[Transcriptome-wide identification and expression pattern analysis for Dof gene family in Panax ginseng from Jilin].

Dof(DNA binding with one finger), a unique class of transcription factors in plants, play an important role in seed development, tissue differentiation, and metabolic regulation. To identify the number and function of Dof gene family members in Panax ginseng, this study identified the members of Dof gene family in P. ginseng and systematically analyzed their structures, evolution, functional differentiation, expression patterns, and interactions using bioinformatics methods at the transcriptome level. At the same time, the association analysis of Dof genes from P. ginseng with key enzyme genes for ginsenoside synthesis was carried out to screen the candidate PgDof genes involved in the regulation of ginsenoside biosynthesis. The results showed that there were 54 genes belonging to the Dof gene family in P. ginseng from Jilin. All PgDof genes had Zf-Dof conserved motifs, implying that they were evolutionarily conserved and could be divided into five groups. Expression pattern analysis confirmed that the expression of PgDof gene family members in different tissues, different year-old P. ginseng, and different farm varieties varied significantly. Simultaneously, as revealed by "gene-saponin content" and "gene-gene" linkage analysis, an important candidate PgDof14-1 gene involved in the regulation of ginsenoside biosynthesis was obtained. From the established genetic transformation system of this gene in the hairy roots of P. ginseng, a positive hairy root clone was determined. This study has laid a theoretical foundation for the study of Dof gene family in P. ginseng.

The utility of two-dimensional shear wave elastography and texture analysis for monitoring liver fibrosis in rat model.

BACKGROUND: Liver fibrosis is a common pathological change caused by a variety of etiologies. Early diagnosis and timely treatment can reverse or delay disease progression and improve the prognosis. This study aimed to assess the potential utility of two-dimensional shear wave elastography and texture analysis in dynamic monitoring of the progression of liver fibrosis in rat model. METHODS: Twenty rats were divided into control group (n = 4) and experimental groups (n = 4 per group) with carbon tetrachloride administration for 2, 3, 4, and 6 weeks. The liver stiffness measurement was performed by two-dimensional shear wave elastography, while the optimal texture analysis subsets to distinguish fibrosis stage were generated by MaZda. The results of elastography and texture analysis were validated through comparing with histopathology. RESULTS: Liver stiffness measurement was 6.09 ± 0.31 kPa in the control group and 7.10 ± 0.41 kPa, 7.80 ± 0.93 kPa, 8.64 ± 0.93 kPa, 9.91 ± 1.13 kPa in the carbon tetrachloride induced groups for 2, 3, 4, 6 weeks, respectively (P < 0.05). By texture analysis, histogram and co-occurrence matrix had the most frequency texture parameters in staging liver fibrosis. Receiver operating characteristic curve of liver elasticity showed that the sensitivity and specificity were 95.0% and 92.5% to discriminate liver fibrosis and non-fibrosis, respectively. In texture analysis, five optimal parameters were selected to classify liver fibrosis and non-fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Two-dimensional shear wave elastography showed potential applications for noninvasive monitoring of the progression of hepatic fibrosis, even in mild fibrosis. Texture analysis can further extract and quantify the texture features in ultrasonic image, which was a supplementary to further visual information and acquired high diagnostic accuracy for severe fibrosis.

Additional value of superb microvascular imaging for assessing hepatic arterial blood flow after pediatric liver transplantation.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the value of SMI compared with conventional ultrasonography for assessing hepatic arterial blood flow after pediatric liver transplantation. METHODS: From March 2018 to November 2018, a total of 105 pediatric recipients with biliary atresia underwent liver transplantation in our hospital. Ultrasound examinations were performed at the bedside in the intensive care unit to check the patency of the blood flow in the hepatic allograft. CDI, PDI, cSMI, and mSMI were performed to assess the display, orientation, and distribution of the graft hepatic artery. Ultrasound examinations were performed by one radiologist, and the images were judged by two observers. RESULTS: The median age, weight, and height of the recipients were 6.97 (5.92, 9.58) months, 6.50 (6.00, 7.80) kg, and 64.00 (62.00, 68.00) cm, respectively. The measure of kappa agreement was 0.902, 0.889, 0.882, and 0.882 for CDI, PDI, cSMI, and mSMI, respectively. HAT occurred in 7 pediatric recipients and was confirmed by CTA (computed tomography angiography) and surgery. The diagnostic performance of sensitivity, specificity, PPV (positive predictive value), NPV (negative predictive value), and accuracy were 100%, 92.86%, 50%, 100%, and 93.33% for CDI and 100%, 98.98%, 87.50%, 100%, and 99.05% for SMI. CONCLUSIONS: As an additional method to CDI, SMI can clearly show the distribution of hepatic arterial blood flow and provide more details, thereby markedly improving the diagnostic performance of postoperative HAT.

Shear wave elastography for evaluation of the urgency of liver transplantation in pediatric patients with biliary atresia.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the role of two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) in the preoperative evaluation of pediatric patients with biliary atresia awaiting liver transplantation. METHODS: Among a total of 152 pediatric patients enrolled in this single-institution prospective study between March 2018 and August 2019, 143 patients (age range, 4-97 months; median age, 7 months; 84 males, 59 females) who underwent successful routine ultrasound examination, SWE examination, and blood test before liver transplantation were included in the final analysis. The values of liver stiffness measured by SWE were compared with ultrasound and blood test parameters by Spearman's correlation analysis. RESULTS: The overall median liver stiffness with 2D-SWE was 29.0 ± 10.9 kPa, with a range of 9.0-53.3 kPa. The success rate of 2D-SWE measurements was 98.0% (149/152). Liver stiffness measurement (LSMs) had no significant correlation with gender, age, weight, and height of the pediatric recipients. LSMs were correlated with ultrasound parameters including portal vein (PV) maximum velocity, PV direction, hepatic artery resistance index (HARI), spleen diameter, ascites, and blood test parameters (albumin level, platelet count level, and international normalized ratio). In the pediatric recipients with hepatofugal PV flow, high HARI (HARI â‰§ 0.90), and ascites, or without Kasai operation, LSMs were significantly higher (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: SWE is feasible and valuable for assessing liver damage in children with biliary atresia awaiting liver transplantation and might be used as selection criteria for children in need of priority access to liver transplantation.

Soluble expression, rapid purification, biological identification of chicken interferon-alpha using a thioredoxin fusion system in E. coli and its antiviral effects to H9N2 avian influenza virus.

In this paper, we report a soluble expression based on Escherichia coli and two-step purification of a novel thioredoxin-tagged chicken interferon-α fusion protein (Trx-rChIFN-α) by using pET32a(+) expression system. The mature ChIFN-α gene was amplified by Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and subcloned into pET-32a (+) vector prior to transformation into Rosetta (DE3) competent cells. After IPTG induction, the recombinant fusion protein was expressed efficiently in the soluble fraction. The protein purification was performed by nickel affinity chromatography and DEAE anion exchange chromatography. The purified product has a purity of 95% with a yield of 47.3 mg/L of culture. The specific activity of the fusion protein reaches to 2.0 × 107 IU/mg as determined in the CEF/VSV titration system. After excision of the Trx tag by enterokinase, the remaining solo protein was confirmed as rChIFN-α protein by SDS-PAGE, N-terminal sequencing and mass spectrometry. The effects of this Trx-rChIFN-α fusion protein against H9N2 influenza virus infection were also evaluated in ovo. The results showed that the Trx-rChIFN-α protein could significantly reduce the hemagglutination titer of H9N2 virus, and the H9N2 viruses HA gene copy numbers. These findings will enable us to produce large amount and bio-active rChIFN-α protein for future applications.

[Reviews on natural monocyclic sesquiterpenoids and their bioactivities].

Sesquiterpenes are a class of terpenoids composed of three isoprene units( 15 carbons). Sesquiterpenoids possess a variety of different structures,including acyclic sesquiterpenes,monocyclic sesquiterpenoids,bicyclic sesquiterpenoids,tricyclic sesquiterpenoids,tetracyclic sesquiterpenoids and macrocyclic sesquiterpenoids. Among them,a large number of monocyclic sesquiterpenoids were isolated and display extensive bioactivities,such as cytotoxic,antioxidant,anti-inflammatory,antibacterial and other activities. In this review,we summarized the progress about the phytochemistry and biological activities of monocyclic sesquiterpenoids( a total of161 compounds) reported from 2014 to 2018( 5 years),including megastigmanes,monocyclofarnesol-type,bisabolane-type,germacrane-type,and other types of monocyclic sesquiterpenoids. Furthermore,several future research perspectives and development of sesquiterpenoids as potential therapeutic agents were discussed as well.

Ultrasound-based scoring system for differential diagnosis of polypoid lesions of the gallbladder.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Polypoid lesions of the gallbladder may be neoplastic or non-neoplastic. Correct diagnosis would help reduce unnecessary cholecystectomies. This study aimed to determine the predictive value of individual ultrasound characteristics for diagnosis of neoplastic polyps and to build a scoring system based on these characteristics. METHODS: A total of 109 patients with gallbladder polyps ≥ 6 mm underwent conventional ultrasound examination and received finally diagnosis by pathological examination. All images were analyzed to determine characteristics of the lesions. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify the predictors of neoplastic polyps, and a scoring system was built based on multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Maximum diameter, height/width ratio, base width, presence of hyper-echoic spots, and intralesional blood flow were statistically significant (P = 0.011, P = 0.016, P = 0.003, P = 0.031, and P = 0.022, respectively) predictors of neoplastic lesions. The total score = (Maximum diameter, ≥ 13.9 mm = 1, < 13.9 = 0) + (Base width, ≥ 3.5 mm = 1, < 3.4 = 0) + (Height/width ratio, ≤ 1.05 = 1, > 1.05 = 0) + (Hyper-echoic spots, presence = 0, absence = 1) + (Blood flow, presence = 1, absence = 0). Receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for the risk of neoplastic polyps with scores of 3 or higher were 81.6%, 86.7%, and 84.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: This ultrasound-based scoring system could be a useful means for differentiating between neoplastic and non-neoplastic gallbladder polyps in the clinic.

Preliminary Results of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging by Combined Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses for Evaluation of Breast Lesions.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the application of a new elastographic technique, acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging, and its diagnostic performance for characterizing breast lesions. METHODS: One hundred consecutive female patients with 126 breast lesions were enrolled in our study. After routine breast ultrasound examinations, the patients underwent ARFI elasticity imaging. Virtual Touch tissue imaging (VTI) and Virtual Touch tissue quantification (Siemens Medical Solutions, Mountain View, CA) were used to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the elasticity and hardness of tumors. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of ARFI for discrimination between benign and malignant breast lesions. RESULTS: Pathologic analysis revealed 40 lesions in the malignant group and 86 lesions in the benign group. Different VTI patterns were observed in benign and malignant breast lesions. Eighty lesions (93.0%) of benign group had pattern 1, 2, or 3, whereas all pattern 4b lesions (n = 20 [50.0%]) were malignant. Regarding the quantitative analysis, the mean VTI-to-B-mode area ratio, internal shear wave velocity, and marginal shear wave velocity of benign lesions were statistically significantly lower than those of malignant lesions (all P < .001). The cutoff point for a scoring system constructed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of ARFI was estimated to be between 3 and 4 points for malignancy, with sensitivity of 77.5%, specificity of 96.5%, accuracy of 90.5%, and an area under the curve of 0.933. CONCLUSIONS: The application of ARFI technology has shown promising results by noninvasively providing substantial complementary information and could potentially serve as an effective diagnostic tool for differentiation between benign and malignant breast lesions.

[Reviews on natural naphthoquinones and their bioactivities].

The naphthaquinones are widely distributed in plants. They are usually in higher plants, but a few of them were also found in microorganisms. There is a lot of research showing that they had multiple pharmaco-activities such as cytotoxic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities, etc. In recent years, they have attracted extensive attention at home and abroad especially in terms of the anti-tumor activity. For further research, 69 new natural naphthoquinones reported in the last five years (2013-2017) were reviewed. They were divided into five major types: simple 1,4-naphthoquinones, furan and pyran naphthoquinones, 1,2-naphthoquinones, naphthohydroquinones and naphthoquinone polymers, which showed cytotoxic, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial biological activities, et al. The research of these compounds in the future was also proposed.

[Constituents isolated from n-butanol extract of leaves of Moringa oleifera].

Seventeen compounds were isolated from n-butanol extract of the leaves of Moringa oleifera, using column chromatography over macroporous resin HP-20,Sephadex LH-20, and ODS. Their structures were identified as two carboline,tangutorid E(1) and tangutorid F(2); three phenolic glycosides,niazirin(3)，benzaldehyde 4-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside(4) and 4-O-ß-D-glucopyranosidebenzoic acid(5); four chlorogenic acid and derivatives,4-caffeoylquinic acid(6),methyl 4-caffeoylquinate(7),caffeoylquinic acid(8) and methyl caffeoylquinate(9); two nucleosids,uridine(10) and adenosine(11); one flavone,quercetin 3-O-ß-D-glucopyranoside(12); five other types of compounds,phthalimidineacetic acid(13),3-pyridinecarboxamide(14),3,4-dihydroxy-benzoic acid(15),5-hydroxymethyl-2-furancarboxylic acid(16) and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde(17) by the spectral data of ¹H, ¹³C-NMR and MS. Among them,compounds 1-2,7,9-10,16 and 17 were isolated from M. oleifera for the first time.

Diagnosis and outcomes of collateral arterial formation after irreversible early hepatic artery thrombosis in pediatric liver recipients.

BACKGROUND: Early hepatic artery thrombosis (eHAT) has been recognized as an important cause of graft loss and mortality. However, the incidence, etiology and outcome are not clear, especially for children. The present study was to investigate the formation of collateral artery flow after irreversible eHAT and its impact on patient's prognosis. METHODS: We analyzed eHAT after liver transplantation in children from October 2006 to April 2015 in our center, illustrated the formation of collateral hepatic artery flow after irreversible eHAT and explored the diagnosis, complications, treatment and prognosis. The basic and follow-up ultrasonographic images were also compared. RESULTS: Of the 330 pediatric liver recipients, 22 (6.67%) developed eHAT within 1 month. Revascularization attempts including surgical thrombectomy, interventional radiology and conservational treatment (thrombolysis) were successful in 5 patients. Among the 17 patients who had irreversible eHAT, follow-up ultrasonography revealed that collateral artery flow was developed as early as 2 weeks after eHAT. Liver abscess and bile duct complication occurred secondary to eHAT in variable time. CONCLUSIONS: Collateral arterial formation is a compensatory adaptation to eHAT to supply blood to liver grafts. However, the severe bile duct damage secondary to eHAT is irreversible and retransplantation is unavoidable.

Differential diagnosis of polypoid lesions of the gallbladder using contrast-enhanced sonography.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of real-time contrast-enhanced sonography and microvascular imaging for differential diagnosis of neoplastic and non-neoplastic polypoid lesions of the gallbladder. METHODS: Real-time contrast-enhanced sonography and microvascular imaging were performed in 128 patients with polypoid lesions of the gallbladder larger than 6 mm in diameter. The enhancement patterns, microvascular imaging types, and kinetic parameters were analyzed on contrast-enhanced sonography. The maximum diameters of the lesions measured by conventional and contrast-enhanced sonography were also recorded and subjected to a comparative analysis. RESULTS: Among the 128 patients, histologic diagnoses were obtained in 83 (27 neoplastic lesions and 56 non-neoplastic lesions), which constituted the study group. On contrast-enhanced sonography, mild enhancement and absence of contrast were more easily found in non-neoplastic lesions (12 [21.4%]), whereas all neoplastic lesions showed marked enhancement (27 [100%]; P = .006). Of the 27 neoplastic lesions, 6 malignant tumors showed a perfusion defect on contrast-enhanced sonography, whereas none of the non-neoplastic lesions showed a perfusion defect (P = .003). The microvascular architecture of the lesions was categorized into 4 types: spotty, linear, branched, and spinous, and there were significant differences between the groups (P< .001). In a kinetic evaluation, none of the parameters reached statistical significance (all P> .05). There was a discrepancy in maximum diameters between conventional and contrast-enhanced sonography in both groups but the discrepancy was significantly greater in the non-neoplastic group (P = .026). CONCLUSIONS: Contrast-enhanced sonography is a useful imaging technique and an adjunct to conventional sonography for differential diagnosis of neoplastic and non-neoplastic polypoid lesions of the gallbladder.

Preoperative hepatic hemodynamics in the prediction of early portal vein thrombosis after liver transplantation in pediatric patients with biliary atresia.

BACKGROUND: Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is one of the main vascular complications after liver transplantation (LT), especially in pediatric patients with biliary atresia (BA). This study aimed to assess the preoperative hepatic hemodynamics in pediatric patients with BA using Doppler ultrasound and determine whether ultrasonographic parameters may predict early PVT after LT. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-eight pediatric patients with BA younger than 3 years of age underwent Doppler ultrasound within seven days before LT, between October 2006 and June 2013. The preoperative hepatic hemodynamic parameters were then compared between patients with early PVT (within 1 month following LT) and those without PVT. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to determine the optimal cutoff value for predicting early PVT. RESULTS: Of the 128 transplant recipients, 41 (32.03%) had a hypoplastic portal vein (PV), 52 (40.63%) had hepatofugal PV flow and 40 (31.25%) had a high hepatic artery resistance index (HARI) of ≥1. Nine cases (7.03%) experienced early PVT. A PV diameter ≤4 mm (sensitivity 88.89%, specificity 72.27%), and a hepatofugal PV flow (sensitivity 77.78%, specificity 62.18%) with a high HARI ≥1 (sensitivity 77.78%, specificity 72.27%) were hepatic hemodynamic risk factors for early PVT. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatic hemodynamic disturbances in pediatric recipients with BA were more common. Small PV diameter (≤4 mm) and hepatofugal PV flow combined with high HARI (≥1) are strong warning signs of early PVT after LT in pediatric patients with BA. Intense monitoring of vascular patency and prophylactic thrombolytic therapy should be considered in pediatric patients undergoing LT for BA.

Effects of cation types in persulfate on physicochemical and adsorptive properties of biochar prepared from persulfate-pretreated bamboo.

The adsorption behaviors of biochar are largely impacted by biomassfeedstock. In this study, two biochars were prepared from torrefaction of ammonium persulfate- and potassium persulfate-pretreated bamboo and then activated by cold alkali, which are named as ASBC and KSBC, respectively. The two biochars were characterized by different instruments, and their adsorption properties over cationic methylene blue (MB) were compared. The type of persulfates little affected the specific surface areas, but significantly impacted O (29.54 % vs. 35.113 %) and N (12.13 % vs. 3.74 %) contents, functional groups, and zeta potentials of biochars. MB adsorption onto ASBC/KSBC is a single-layer chemical endothermic process and ASBC/KSBC exhibit high adsorption capacity over MB (475/881 mg·g-1) at 303 K. Obviously, the sorption capacity of MB onto KSBC much surpasses that of MB onto ASBC. These results indicate biomass pre-treatment is a cheap and convenient method to prepare biochars with unique physicochemical and adsorptive properties.

Diagnostic efficacy of contrast-enhanced sonography by combined qualitative and quantitative analysis in breast lesions: a comparative study with magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of contrast-enhanced sonography for differentiation of breast lesions by combined qualitative and quantitative analyses in comparison to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: Fifty-six patients with American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System category 3 to 5 breast lesions on conventional sonography were evaluated by contrast-enhanced sonography and MRI. A comparative analysis of diagnostic results between contrast-enhanced sonography and MRI was conducted in light of the pathologic findings. RESULTS: Pathologic analysis showed 26 benign and 30 malignant lesions. The predominant enhancement patterns of the benign lesions on contrast-enhanced sonography were homogeneous, centrifugal, and isoenhancement or hypoenhancement, whereas the patterns of the malignant lesions were mainly heterogeneous, centripetal, and hyperenhancement. The detection rates for perfusion defects and peripheral radial vessels in the malignant group were much higher than those in the benign group (P < .05). As to quantitative analysis, statistically significant differences were found in peak and time-to-peak values between the groups (P < .05). With pathologic findings as the reference standard, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of contrast-enhanced sonography and MRI were 90.0%, 92.3%, 91.1% and 96.7%, 88.5%, and 92.9%, respectively. The two methods had a concordant rate of 87.5% (49 of 56), and the concordance test gave a value of κ = 0.75, indicating that there was high concordance in breast lesion assessment between the two diagnostic modalities. CONCLUSIONS: Contrast-enhanced sonography provided typical enhancement patterns and valuable quantitative parameters, which showed good agreement with MRI in diagnostic efficacy and may potentially improve characterization of breast lesions.

Influence of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, prostate volume, and PSA density on prostate cancer detection with contrast-enhanced sonography using contrast-tuned imaging technology.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of the serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, prostate volume, and PSA density on prostate cancer detection with contrast-enhanced sonography using contrast-tuned imaging technology compared with baseline imaging (combination of grayscale and power Doppler imaging). METHODS: In all, 161 patients were evaluated with grayscale, power Doppler, and contrast-tuned imaging. Biopsy was performed at 10 sites in each patient. When an abnormality was shown on any of these examinations, the biopsy was directed toward the abnormality. Cancer detection between contrast-tuned imaging and baseline imaging was compared for different subgroups according to PSA level (4-10, 10-20, and >20 ng/mL), prostate volume (<35, 35-50, 50-65, and >65 mL), and PSA density (<0.15, 0.15-0.30, 0.30-0.50, and >0.50). RESULTS: In total, 413 sites were malignant in 78 patients. By biopsy site, the accuracy was greater for contrast-tuned imaging than for baseline imaging in all PSA level, prostate volume, and PSA density subgroups except 0.30 to 0.50 (all P < .05). Contrast-tuned imaging had significantly higher sensitivity in the subgroups with PSA levels between 4 and 20 ng/mL, prostate volumes between 35 and 65 mL, and PSA densities between 0.15 and 0.50 than baseline imaging (all P < .05); it also had significantly higher specificity for all PSA level subgroups except 10 to 20 ng/mL, all prostate volume subgroups except 35 to 50 mL, and all PSA density subgroups except 0.30 to 0.50 (all P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Contrast-tuned imaging could improve cancer detection over baseline imaging in patients with different PSA levels, prostate volumes, and PSA densities.

[Study on effect of artificial CsB and its components on bile acid metabolism in rats with liver fibrosis and its mechanism].

Bile acid is a type of metabolite degraded from cholesterol in liver. Its accumulation in liver could cause liver diseases, liver damage and liver fibrosis. In this experiment, dimethyl nitrosamine (DMN) liver fibrosis was established in rats. The rats were delivered into the normal group, the model group and four treated groups. After the four-week modeling, the treated groups were orally administered with drugs for 2 weeks, whereas the model and normal groups were given equal amount of sterile water at the same time. In the experiment, serum bile acid was taken the as marker, and liver function indexes and changes in bile acid metabolism were detected and observed to identify liver damage-related bile acid targets. It was the first time to evaluate the reverse effect of artificial CsB and its components on liver fibrosis in rats with bile acid metabolic level, and discuss its potential mechanism. The main study contents and results are as follows: a quantitative analysis was made on totally 17 endogenous bile acids, including taurocholic acid conjugated bile acid, glycine conjugated bile acid and free bile acid, and a liver damage evaluation was made for the model according to the detection of serum biochemical indexes and the pathological biopsy. After modeling, ALT, AST activity and TBil content significantly increased, whereas Alb significantly decreased. According to the pathological biopsy HE staining, the model group showed damage in normal hepatic lobule structure, liver cell edema and connective tissue proliferation in portal area; The treated groups showed mitigation in pathological changes to varying degrees. Cordyceps sinensis and its components may impact the bile acid metabolism in rats by activating HDCA, TCA, TCDCA, TLCA, TUDCA, UDCA, THDCA metabolim-related receptors or blocking relevant signaling pathway.

Enhancement patterns and parameters of breast cancers at contrast-enhanced US: correlation with prognostic factors.

PURPOSE: To investigate the correlation between enhancement patterns and parameters of contrast material-enhanced ultrasonography (US) with prognostic factors in breast cancers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was approved by the institutional ethics committee, and written informed consent was obtained. Surgical resection specimens of 74 malignant breast lesions in 74 women (mean age, 55 years; age range, 32-78 years) who had undergone contrast-enhanced US were included. Different contrast enhancement patterns (enhancement degree, order, and margin; internal homogeneity; perfusion defect; and radial or penetrating vessels) and parameters (wash-in time, peak intensity, time to peak, area under the time-intensity curve, ascending slope, and descending slope) were evaluated. Pathologic prognostic factors, including histologic grade, lymph node status, tumor diameter, microvessel density (MVD), estrogen and progesterone receptor status, and c-erb-B2, p53, and Ki-67 expression were determined. Correlation of enhancement patterns and parameters with prognostic factors was analyzed with the Pearson χ2 test, Spearman rank correlation test, and logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Some enhancement features were associated, albeit not significantly, with prognostic factors. Perfusion defect was the most accurate enhancement criterion for higher histologic grade (grade III) (P=.016), negative estrogen receptor expression (P=.006), positive c-erb-B2 expression (P=.013), larger tumor diameter (≥2 cm) (P=.016), and increased MVD (P=.019). Radial or penetrating vessels were associated with lymph node status (P=.010). Hyperenhancement may be useful in reflecting increased MVD (P=.008) and positive p53 expression (P=.037). For contrast enhancement parameters, ascending slope was the best discrimination criterion for proliferative activity (P=.003). CONCLUSION: Enhancement patterns and parameters of contrast-enhanced US may be useful in the noninvasive prediction of prognostic factors of breast cancers.

The value of sonoelastography scores and the strain ratio in differential diagnosis of azoospermia.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the diagnostic performance of real-time elastography for differentiating nonobstructive from obstructive azoospermia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated 1,192 testes, including 584 with nonobstructive azoospermia, 408 with obstructive azoospermia and 200 controls, from men with a mean ± SD age of 30 ± 5 years. Two radiologists evaluated the testes using a 5-degree elastography score system. The strain ratio was calculated on line. Of 156 azoospermic testes 78 were diagnosed by bilateral testicular biopsy for diagnostic purposes or sperm harvesting. RESULTS: In our software system a score of 3 indicated average strain, and scores 4 and 5 indicated low strain. Average or low strain (score 3 to 5) was seen in 477 of 584 testes with nonobstructive azoospermia (81.7%). This rate was significantly higher than the rate in obstructive azoospermic and control testes (68 of 408 or 16.3% and 30 of 200 or 15.0%, p <0.001). The strain ratio significantly differed for nonobstructive and obstructive azoospermia (median 0.490 and 0.340, Z = -20.560, p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Real-time elastography is a promising imaging method with great potential for the differential diagnosis of azoospermia.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography with contrast-tuned imaging technology for the detection of prostate cancer: comparison with conventional ultrasonography.

UNLABELLED: Study Type - Diagnostic (exploratory cohort) Level of Evidence 2b What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? The present study was to perform contrast-tuned imaging (CnTI) technology to detect prostate cancer and compare the use of CnTI technology for the detection of prostate cancer with conventional ultrasonography. The preliminary data from our study suggested that targeted biopsy of the prostate with CnTI technology could improve the cancer detection and detect higher grade prostate cancers. OBJECTIVES: To perform contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) using contrast-tuned imaging (CnTI) technology to detect prostate cancer. To evaluate the detection of prostate cancer with CnTI compared with conventional grey-scale and power Doppler ultrasonography. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In all, 150 patients referred for prostate biopsy were evaluated using transrectal grey-scale, power Doppler and CnTI ultrasonography. Biopsy was performed at 10 sites in each patient. If an abnormality was found at any of these three ultrasonography examinations, a biopsy specimen was targeted towards from the corresponding site. The performances of the three ultrasonography techniques for prostate cancer detection were compared. RESULTS: Prostate cancer was detected at 383 sites from 73 patients. The combination of these three examinations detected more patients with prostate cancer than grey-scale (P= 0.002), power Doppler (P= 0.001) or baseline imaging (the combination of grey-scale and power Doppler; P= 0.031) alone. By biopsy site, CnTI had higher sensitivity and accuracy (73.1% and 83.7%) than grey-scale (50.9%; P < 0.001 and 78.8%; P < 0.001) or power Doppler (48.3%; P < 0.001 and 77.7%; P < 0.001), while the specificity was similar for grey-scale (88.4%), power Doppler (87.8%) and CnTI (87.3%; P > 0.05 in each case). CnTI had higher sensitivity (73.1% vs 62.9%; P < 0.001), specificity (87.3% vs 82.1%; P < 0.001) and accuracy (83.7% vs 77.2%; P < 0.001) than baseline imaging. The mean Gleason score of CnTI-positive cases was significantly higher than CnTI-negative cases (7.1 vs 6.3; P= 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: CEUS using CnTI technology enables a visualization of the microvasculature associated with prostate cancer. CnTI technology could be used to guide biopsy and improve the detection rate of prostate cancer. CnTI technology was able to detect higher grade prostate cancers.