Coupled hydraulics and carbon economy underlie age-related growth decline and revitalisation of sand-fixing shrubs after crown removal.

Crown removal revitalises sand-fixing shrubs that show declining vigour with age in drought-prone environments; however, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we addressed this knowledge gap by comparing the growth performance, xylem hydraulics and plant carbon economy across different plant ages (10, 21 and 33 years) and treatments (control and crown removal) using a representative sand-fixing shrub (Caragana microphylla Lam.) in northern China. We found that growth decline with plant age was accompanied by simultaneous decreases in soil moisture, plant hydraulic efficiency and photosynthetic capacity, suggesting that these interconnected changes in plant water relations and carbon economy were responsible for this decline. Following crown removal, quick resprouting, involving remobilisation of root nonstructural carbohydrate reserves, contributed to the reconstruction of an efficient hydraulic system and improved plant carbon status, but this became less effective in older shrubs. These age-dependent effects of carbon economy and hydraulics on plant growth vigour provide a mechanistic explanation for the age-related decline and revitalisation of sand-fixing shrubs. This understanding is crucial for the development of suitable management strategies for shrub plantations constructed with species having the resprouting ability and contributes to the sustainability of ecological restoration projects in water-limited sandy lands.

Cross-sectional imaging: current status and future potential in adult celiac disease.

Celiac disease (CD), triggered by exposure to gluten in genetically susceptible individuals, is an immune-mediated small bowel disease affecting about 1% of the population worldwide. But the prevalence of CD varies with age, sex, and location. A strict gluten-free diet remains the primary treatment for CD, currently. Most of patients with CD respond well to gluten-free diet with good prognosis, while some patients fail to get symptomatic relief or histological remission (e.g., nonresponsive or refractory CD). Because of heterogeneous clinical appearance, the diagnosis of CD is difficult. Moreover, malignant complications and poor outcomes accompanied with refractory CD present great challenges in disease management. Over the past three decades, cross-sectional imaging techniques (computed tomography [CT] and magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]) play an important role in small bowel inflammatory and neoplastic diseases. Compared with endoscopic techniques, cross-sectional imaging permits clearly presentation of both intraluminal and extraluminal abnormalities. It provides vascular and functional information, thus improving the possibility as diagnostic and follow-up tool. The value of cross-sectional imaging for patients with suspected or confirmed CD has been gradually demonstrated. Studies revealed that certain features suggested by cross-sectional imaging could help to establish the early diagnosis of CD. Besides, the potential contributions of cross-sectional imaging may lie in the evaluation of disease activity and severity, which helps guiding management strategies. The purpose of this review is to provide current overviews and future directions of cross-sectional imaging in adult CD, thus facilitating the understanding and application in clinical practice. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: In this review, we systematically summarized the existing knowledge of cross-sectional imaging in adult CD and analyzed their possible roles in clinical practice, including disease diagnosis, complication identification, treatment evaluation, and prognostic prediction. KEY POINTS: • Regarding a condition described as "celiac iceberg", celiac disease remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. • Cross-sectional imaging is helpful in clinical management of celiac disease, including disease diagnosis, complication identification, treatment evaluation, and prognostic prediction. • Cross-sectional imaging should be considered as the valuable examination in patients suspected from celiac disease.

Polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols from Hypericum sampsonii with cytotoxicity against pancreatic carcinomas.

Chemical investigation on the 80% EtOH extract of the air dried aerial parts of Hypericum sampsonii resulted in the isolation of two new polycyclic polyprenylated derivatives, hypersampines A and B (1 and 2). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic data (NMR, IR, and UV) and high resolution mass analysis. The two isolated polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols were tested in vitro for cytotoxic activities against 6 pancreatic cell lines. As a result, compounds 1 and 2 possessed modest cytotoxic activities against all the tested tumor cell lines with IC50 values less than 40 µM.

Clinical outcome is distinct between radiological stricture and endoscopic stricture in ileal Crohn's disease.

OBJECTIVES: Differences in clinical adverse outcomes (CAO) based on different intestinal stricturing definitions in Crohn's disease (CD) are poorly documented. This study aims to compare CAO between radiological strictures (RS) and endoscopic strictures (ES) in ileal CD and explore the significance of upstream dilatation in RS. METHODS: This retrospective double-center study included 199 patients (derivation cohort, n = 157; validation cohort, n = 42) with bowel strictures who simultaneously underwent endoscopic and radiologic examinations. RS was defined as a luminal narrowing with wall thickening relative to the normal gut on cross-sectional imaging (group 1 (G1)), which further divided into G1a (without upstream dilatation) and G1b (with upstream dilatation). ES was defined as an endoscopic non-passable stricture (group 2 (G2)). Strictures met the definitions of RS (with or without upstream dilatation) and ES were categorized as group 3 (G3). CAO referred to stricture-related surgery or penetrating disease. RESULTS: In the derivation cohort, G1b (93.3%) had the highest CAO occurrence rate, followed by G3 (32.6%), G1a (3.2%), and G2 (0%) (p < 0.0001); the same order was found in the validation cohort. The CAO-free survival time was significantly different among the four groups (p < 0.0001). Upstream dilatation (hazard ratio, 1.126) was a risk factor for predicting CAO in RS. Furthermore, when upstream dilatation was added to diagnose RS, 17.6% of high-risk strictures were neglected. CONCLUSIONS: CAO differs significantly between RS and ES, and clinicians should pay more attention to strictures in G1b and G3. Upstream dilatation has an important impact on the clinical outcome of RS but may not be an essential factor for RS diagnosis. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: This study explored the definition of intestinal stricture with the greatest significance for the clinical diagnosis and prognosis of patients with CD, and consequently provided effective auxiliary information for clinicians to formulate strategies for the treatment of CD intestinal strictures. KEY POINTS: • The retrospective double-center study showed that clinical adverse outcome is different between radiological strictures and endoscopic strictures in CD. • Upstream dilatation has an important impact on the clinical outcome of radiological strictures but may not be an essential factor for diagnosis of radiological strictures. • Radiological stricture with upstream dilatation and simultaneous radiological and endoscopic stricture were at increased risk for clinical adverse outcomes; thus, closer monitoring should be considered.

Semi-Synthesis of Flavonoid Glycosides and Their Anti-Inflammatory and Antitumor Activities towards Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Flavonoid glycosides are known to possess diverse bioactivities including antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties. Hesperetin is abundant in nature and can be used to synthesize bioactive flavonoids. This has the advantages of low cost, short synthetic steps, simple operation, and good yields. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to synthesize bioactive flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides from hesperetin and evaluate the antitumor and anti-inflammatory activities of these compounds. METHODS: A series of flavonoids and their derivatives were synthesized by methoxylation, oxidative dehydrogenation, benzylation, debenzylation, and deacetylation as well as using a modified peroxyacetone method and a glycoside condensation reaction. Their anti-inflammatory activities were evaluated for their inhibitory effects on nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) production in LPS-induced RAW264.7 mouse macrophages. Their structures were characterized by HRMS, 1 H-NMR, and 13 C-NMR, and their cytotoxicity on the human triple-negative breast cancer cell (TNBC) line, SUM 149, was tested by using the MST assay. RESULTS: Most of the compounds markedly reduced NO production in LPS-stimulated murine macrophages at the tested concentrations in a dose-dependent manner. Among these, compounds 1, 7, 9, and 17 showed significant anti-inflammatory activities against NO production in LPS-induced RAW264.7 mouse macrophages. In addition, they could also reduce the release of TNF-α and IL-6 in a concentration-dependent manner. Most of the tested compounds showed remarkable anti-human TNBC activities. Compounds 1b-1m, 1, and 3 showed a certain degree of growth inhibition effect on the human TNBC cell lines and their IC50 values were all below 16.61 µM. In addition, compound 1l was the most cytotoxic with IC50 values of 1.38±0.31 µM, while the other compounds were inactive with inhibition rates <50 % at the highest concentration tested (20 µM). CONCLUSIONS: A novel series of flavonoids were synthesized from the natural flavonoid, hesperetin, including 17 new compounds. Screening tests indicated that most of these compounds reduced NO production in LPS-stimulated murine macrophages at concentrations of 15 to 60 µM, and the inhibition generally increased in a dose-dependent manner. Some compounds showed different degrees of cytotoxicity on the human TBNC cell lines, SUM 149.

Cytotoxic nortriterpenoids from the barks of Juglans cathayensis.

A chemical study of 90% ethanol extract of the barks of Juglans cathayensis resulted in the isolation of three new nortriterpenoids, jugcathenoids A-C (1-3). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis (NMR, IR, UV, and MS). The isolated nortriterpenoids were tested in vitro for cytotoxic activities against 6 pancreatic cell lines. As a result, compounds 1-3 exhibited some cytotoxic activities against all the tested tumor cell lines with IC50 values less than 50 µM.

Magnetisation transfer imaging adds information to conventional MRIs to differentiate inflammatory from fibrotic components of small intestinal strictures in Crohn's disease.

OBJECTIVES: Identifying inflammation- or fibrosis-predominant strictures in Crohn's disease (CD) is crucial for treatment strategies. We evaluated the additive value of magnetisation transfer (MT) to conventional MRI for differentiating CD strictures using surgical histopathology as a reference standard. METHODS: Twenty-eight consecutive CD patients who underwent MRI preoperatively were recruited. MRI parameters included T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) hyperintensity, bowel wall thickness, enhancement pattern changes over time, enhancement pattern and gain ratio in dynamic contrast-enhanced phases, and MT ratio. Correlation analysis was performed using Spearman's rank test. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and Cohen's κ were used. A model with combined MRI variables characterising intestinal strictures was proposed and validated in 14 additional CD patients. RESULTS: Significant correlations with histological inflammation scores were shown for wall thickness (r = 0.361, p = 0.001) and T2WI hyperintensity (r = 0.396, p < 0.001), whereas histological fibrosis scores were significantly correlated with MT ratio (r = 0.681, p < 0.001) and wall thickness (r = 0.461, p < 0.001). T2WI hyperintensity could differentiate mild from moderate-to-severe inflammation with a sensitivity of 0.871 and a specificity of 0.800. MT ratio could discriminate mild from moderate-to-severe fibrosis with a sensitivity and a specificity of 0.913 and 0.923, respectively. Combining MT ratio and T2WI hyperintensity, the MRI classification moderately agreed with the pathological stricture classification (p < 0.01, κ = 0.549). In the validation set, the diagnostic accuracy of T2WI hyperintensity and MT ratio were 86% and 89%, with good agreement between MRI and histopathological classification (p < 0.01, κ = 0.665). CONCLUSIONS: MT ratio combined with conventional MRI improves the differentiation of fibrotic from inflammatory components of small-bowel strictures in CD patients. KEY POINTS: • MT ratio from magnetisation transfer imaging combined with T2WI from conventional MRI can simultaneously characterise bowel fibrosis and inflammation in adult Crohn's disease.

Ability of DWI to characterize bowel fibrosis depends on the degree of bowel inflammation.

OBJECTIVES: Although diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is reported to be accurate in detecting bowel inflammation in Crohn's disease (CD), its ability to assess bowel fibrosis remains unclear. This study assessed the role of DWI in the characterization of bowel fibrosis using surgical histopathology as the reference standard. METHODS: Abdominal DWI was performed before elective surgery in 30 consecutive patients with CD. The apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) in pathologic bowel walls were calculated. Region-by-region correlations between DWI and the surgical specimens were performed to determine the histologic degrees of bowel fibrosis and inflammation. RESULTS: ADCs correlated negatively with bowel inflammation (r = - 0.499, p < 0.001) and fibrosis (r = - 0.464, p < 0.001) in 90 specimens; the ADCs in regions of nonfibrosis and mild fibrosis were significantly higher than those in regions of moderate-severe fibrosis (p = 0.008). However, there was a significant correlation between the ADCs and bowel fibrosis (r = - 0.641, p = 0.001) in mildly inflamed segments but not in moderately (r = - 0.274, p = 0.255) or severely (r = - 0.225, p = 0.120) inflamed segments. In the mildly inflamed segments, the ADCs had good accuracy with an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of 0.867 (p = 0.004) for distinguishing nonfibrosis and mild fibrosis from moderate-severe fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: ADC can be used to assess bowel inflammation in patients with CD. However, it only enables the accurate detection of the degree of bowel fibrosis in mildly inflamed bowel walls. Therefore, caution is advised when using ADC to predict the degree of intestinal fibrosis. KEY POINTS: • Diffusion-weighted imaging was used to assess bowel inflammation in patients with Crohn's disease. • The ability of diffusion-weighted imaging to evaluate bowel fibrosis decreased with increasing bowel inflammation. • Diffusion-weighted imaging enabled accurate detection of the degree of fibrosis only in mildly inflamed bowel walls.

IVIM with fractional perfusion as a novel biomarker for detecting and grading intestinal fibrosis in Crohn's disease.

OBJECTIVES: Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides information on both perfusion and diffusion and has been used to evaluate Crohn's disease (CD) activity and fibrosis in children; however, there are no reports on its use in adults. We aimed to determine its value for detecting and grading intestinal fibrosis in adults with CD compared with contrast-enhanced imaging and traditional diffusion-weighted imaging using surgical histopathology as a reference standard. METHODS: Twenty-four adults with CD underwent preoperative IVIM, traditional diffusion-weighted, and contrast-enhanced imaging. Region-by-region correlations between MRI findings and histologic findings of the surgical specimens were performed. Imaging parameters including fractional perfusion, perfusion coefficient, and diffusion coefficient for IVIM and apparent diffusion coefficient value for traditional diffusion-weighted imaging and contrast-enhanced parameter of 95 bowel lesions were measured. Intestinal fibrosis was histologically scored from 0 to 3. RESULTS: The fractional perfusion (r = - 0.629, p < 0.001) and apparent diffusion coefficient values (r = - 0.495, p < 0.001) were significantly correlated with fibrosis scores. Fractional perfusion decreased following increases in fibrosis severity from mild, to moderate, to severe (p < 0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for distinguishing moderate-severe from mild fibrosis was 0.876 (p < 0.001) for fractional perfusion, followed by 0.802 for apparent diffusion coefficient value (p < 0.001). Perfusion coefficient, diffusion coefficient, and contrast-enhanced parameter were uncorrelated with histological fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: IVIM diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging outperforms traditional diffusion-weighted and contrast-enhanced imaging in grading bowel fibrosis, and fractional perfusion may be a promising biomarker for fibrosis severity in adults with CD. KEY POINTS: • Intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted MRI outperforms contrast-enhanced imaging and traditional diffusion-weighted MRI for detecting and grading intestinal fibrosis in adult Crohn's disease. • The parameter fractional perfusion, a promising biomarker for fibrosis severity, may be beneficial for treatment planning and monitoring of bowel fibrosis in adult Crohn's disease. • Perfusion coefficient, diffusion coefficient, and the percentage of enhancement gain between 70 s and 7 min were uncorrelated with histological fibrosis.

A novel collagen area fraction index to quantitatively assess bowel fibrosis in patients with Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND: A validated histopathological tool to precisely evaluate bowel fibrosis in patients with Crohn's disease is lacking. We attempted to establish a new index to quantify the severity of bowel fibrosis in patients with Crohn's disease-associated fibrostenosis. METHODS: We analyzed the histopathological data of 31 patients with Crohn's disease strictures undergoing surgical resection. The most representative sections of resected strictured segments were stained with Masson trichrome to manifest bowel fibrosis. The collagen area fraction and histological fibrosis score were simultaneously calculated for the same section to evaluate the severity of bowel fibrosis. RESULTS: Collagen area fraction strongly correlated with histological fibrosis scores (r = 0.733, P < 0.001). It showed a stronger correlation (r = 0.561, P < 0.001) with the degree of bowel strictures than the histological fibrosis score did (r = 0.468, P < 0.001). It was also shown to be more accurate for diagnosing Crohn's disease strictures (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.815, P < 0.001) compared with the histological fibrosis score (area under the curve = 0.771, P < 0.001). High repeatability was observed for the collagen area fraction, with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.915 (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Collagen area fraction is a simple and reliable index to quantify the severity of bowel fibrosis in patients with Crohn's disease-associated fibrostenosis.

Characterization of Degree of Intestinal Fibrosis in Patients with Crohn Disease by Using Magnetization Transfer MR Imaging.

Purpose To evaluate the role of magnetization transfer (MT) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for the characterization of intestinal fibrosis compared with contrast material-enhanced and diffusion-weighted MR imaging and its capability for differentiating fibrotic from inflammatory strictures in humans with Crohn disease (CD) by using surgical histopathologic analysis as the reference standard. Materials and Methods Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained for this prospective study. Abdominal MT imaging, contrast-enhanced imaging, and diffusion-weighted imaging of 31 consecutive patients with CD were analyzed before elective surgery. The bowel wall MT ratio normalized to skeletal muscle, the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and the percentage of enhancement gain were calculated; region-by-region correlations with the surgical specimen were performed to determine the histologic degree of fibrosis and inflammation. The performance of MT imaging was validated in five new patients. One-way analysis of variance test, Spearman rank correlation, and receiver operating characteristic curve were used for statistical analysis. Results Normalized MT ratios strongly correlated with fibrosis scores (r = 0.769; P = .000) but did not correlate with inflammation scores (r = -0.034; P = .740). Significant differences (F = 49.002; P = .000) in normalized MT ratios were found among nonfibrotic, mildly, moderately, and severely fibrotic walls. The normalized MT ratios of mixed fibrotic and inflammatory bowel walls were significantly higher than those of bowel walls with only inflammation present (t = -8.52; P = .000). A high accuracy of normalized MT ratios was shown with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.919 (P = .000) for differentiating moderately to severely fibrotic bowel walls from nonfibrotic and mildly fibrotic bowel walls, followed by ADC (AUC, 0.747; P = .001) and the percentage of enhancement gain (AUC, 0.592; P = .209). The sensitivity, specificity, and AUC of MT imaging for diagnosing moderate to severe fibrosis in the validation data set were 80% (12 of 15), 100% (three of three), and 0.9 (P = .033), respectively. Conclusion MT imaging outperforms ADC and contrast-enhanced imaging in detecting and distinguishing varying degrees of bowel fibrosis with or without coexisting inflammation. MT imaging could potentially be used as a method to differentiate fibrotic from inflammatory intestinal strictures in patients with CD. © RSNA, 2018 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Diffusion kurtosis MRI versus conventional diffusion-weighted imaging for evaluating inflammatory activity in Crohn's disease.

PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and to compare DKI-derived parameters with that of conventional diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for grading the inflammatory activity of Crohn's disease (CD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In all, 38 patients with CD underwent 3T magnetic resonance enterography (MRE) with DKI (b values of 0-2000 s/mm2 ). The inflammatory activity of the bowel segments was graded by magnetic resonance index of activity (MaRIA) as inactive (<7), mild (≥7 and <11), or moderate-severe (≥11). Apparent diffusion for non-Gaussian distribution (Dapp ) and apparent kurtosis coefficient (Kapp ) on DKI as well as apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) on DWI were compared. RESULTS: In all, 86 bowel segments including inactive (20), mild (19), and moderate-severe (47) CD were analyzed. The differences in Kapp , Dapp , and ADC among inactive, mild, and moderate-severe CD were significant (all P < 0.05). Kapp (r = 0.862), Dapp (r = -0.755), and ADC (r = -0.713) correlated well with MaRIA in all segments. Stronger correlation with MaRIA in moderate-severe CD was found for Kapp (r = 0.647) than that of Dapp (r = -0.414) and ADC (r = -0.580). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed high accuracy of Kapp , Dapp , and ADC for differentiating active from inactive CD (AUC: 0.953 for Kapp , 0.944 for Dapp , 0.907 for ADC) as well as differentiating inactive-mild from moderate-severe CD (AUC: 0.946 for Kapp , 0.887 for Dapp , 0.846 for ADC). The threshold Kapp of 0.731 allowed differentiation of active from inactive CD with 89.4% sensitivity and 95% specificity. CONCLUSION: DKI of CD is clinically feasible and might be superior to conventional DWI for grading the inflammatory activity of CD. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:702-709.

T2* Mapping to characterize intestinal fibrosis in crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND: Assessing bowel fibrosis in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) has important therapeutic implications. PURPOSE: To determine the utility of T2* mapping versus that of contrast enhanced (CE) imaging in grading intestinal fibrosis in patients with CD using surgical pathology as the reference standard. STUDY TYPE: Prospective. SPECIMENS: 102 specimens from 27 patients with CD. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3.0T; T2WI; T1WI; T2*WI. ASSESSMENT: The T2*WI values of the bowel wall targeted for resection were measured by two radiologists by drawing regions of interest on the thickened bowel wall. The resected bowel specimens with pathological fibrosis and type I collagen were classified into four severity grades (0-3) by a pathologist using a semi-quantitative scoring system. STATISTICAL TESTS: The differences in the T2*WI values among the different histological grades were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance or the Kruskal-Wallis test, and their correlations were analyzed. The ability of the T2*WI values to discriminate between various degrees of fibrosis was assessed using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed in the T2* values of mild (23.56 ± 1.60 ms), moderate (16.19 ± 0.55 ms), and severe (13.59 ± 0.53 ms) fibrosis types (F = 35.84; P < 0.001). T2* values were moderately associated with histological fibrosis (r = -0.627; P < 0.001) and type I collagen scores (r = -0.588; P < 0.001). T2* values were highly accurate, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.951 (P < 0.001) for differentiating moderate-to-severe fibrosis from nonfibrosis and mild fibrosis, followed by an AUC of 0.508 for the percentage of enhancement gain (P = 0.908). A threshold T2* value of 18.06 ms was recommended for diagnosing moderate-to-severe fibrosis with 94.7% sensitivity and 78.3% specificity. DATA CONCLUSION: MRI T2* mapping outperforms CE parameters in distinction of various degrees of bowel fibrosis in CD. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018.

A tripeptide (NSK) inhibits Japanese encephalitis virus infection in vitro and in vivo.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a major pathogen that can cause acute viral encephalitis in both humans and animals. Domain III of the viral envelope protein (EDIII) is involved in binding to host cell receptor(s) to facilitate virus entry. Our previous study showed that the loop3 peptide of EDIII possesses antiviral activity against JEV infection. In this paper, we demonstrate that three residues (NSK) in loop3 are responsible for the antiviral activity of loop3 peptide. In vitro experiments showed that the tripeptide NSK could inhibit JEV infection in both BHK-21 and Neuro-2A cells by inhibiting attachment of JEV to the cells, with IC50 values of 8 µM and 6.5 µM, respectively. In vivo experiments showed that the tripeptide could increase the survival of mice challenged with JEV to 75 % when administrated intracerebrally. Therefore, this tripeptide may serve as the basis for the development of novel antiviral agents against Japanese encephalitis virus infection.

Structure and antitumor and immunomodulatory activities of a water-soluble polysaccharide from Dimocarpus longan pulp.

A new water-soluble polysaccharide (longan polysaccharide 1 (LP1)) was extracted and successfully purified from Dimocarpus longan pulp via diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-cellulose anion-exchange and Sephacryl S-300 HR gel chromatography. The chemical structure was determined using Infrared (IR), gas chromatography (GC) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. The results indicated that the molecular weight of the sample was 1.1 × 10(5) Da. Monosaccharide composition analysis revealed that LP1 was composed of Glc, GalA, Ara and Gal in a molar ratio of 5.39:1.04:0.74:0.21. Structural analysis indicated that LP1 consisted of a backbone of → 4)-α-D-Glcp-(1 → 4)-α-D-GALPA-(1 → 4)-α-D-Glcp-(1 → 4)-ß-D-Glcp-(1 → units with poly saccharide side chains composed of → 2)-ß-D-Fruf-(1 → 2)-L-sorbose-(1 → attached to the O-6 position of the α-D-Glcp residues. In vitro experiments indicated that LP1 had significantly high antitumor activity against SKOV3 and HO8910 tumor cells, with inhibition percentages of 40% and 50%, respectively. In addition, LP1 significantly stimulated the production of the cytokine interferon-γ (IFN-γ), increased the activity of murine macrophages and enhanced B- and T-lymphocyte proliferation. The results of this study demonstrate that LP1 has potential applications as a natural antitumor agent with immunomodulatory activity.

Diagnostic and post-treatment CT appearance of biopsy proven mixed Cryptococcus and Candida cholangitis.

Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida are common opportunistic pathogens of human. There is very limited literature on Cryptococcus neoformans cholangitis or Candida cholangitis in immunocompetent patient while mixed Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida cholangitis has not been reported in the literature ever before. We hereby report the imaging findings of a case of mixed Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida cholangitis in an immunocompetent boy. The CT features included nodules in the cystic duct and common bile duct, dilatation of the intra- and extrahepatic bile ducts with mural thickening, irregular hypodense mass-like lesion extending along the bile ducts from the liver hilum to the periphery which was confirmed by the presence of enlarged and confluent lymph nodes. CT characteristics can contribute to timely diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

Deep learning-based reconstruction improves the image quality of low-dose CT enterography in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

PURPOSE: Lifelong re-examination of CT enterography (CTE) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be necessary, and reducing radiation exposure during CT examinations is crucial. We investigated the potential application of deep learning reconstruction (DLR) in CTE to reduce radiation dose and improve image quality in IBD. METHODS: Thirty-six patients with known or suspected IBD were prospectively recruited to the low-dose CTE (LDCTE) group, while forty patients were retrospectively selected from previous clinical standard-dose CTE (STDCTE) scans as controls. STDCTE images were reconstructed with hybrid-IR (adaptive iterative dose reduction 3-dimensional [AIDR3D], standard setting); LDCTE images were reconstructed with AIDR3D and DLR (Advanced Intelligence ClearIQ Engine [AiCE], Body mild/standard/strong, Sharp Body mild/standard/strong setting). The effective radiation dose (ED), image noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), overall image quality, subjective image noise, and diagnostic effectiveness were compared between the LDCTE and STDCTE groups. RESULTS: Compared with STDCTE, the ED of LDCTE was lower by 54.1% (p<0.001). Compared with STDCTE-AIDR3D, LDCTE-AIDR3D reconstruction objective image noise and SNR were greater (p<0.05), the subjective overall image quality was lower (p<0.05), and the diagnostic efficiency was lower (AUC=0.52, p<0.05). The SNRs of reconstructedimages of LDCTE-AiCE Body Strong and LDCTE-AiCE Body Sharp standard/strong groups were greater than that of STDCTE-AIDR3D group (all p<0.05), and the diagnostic performance was better than or comparable to that of STDCTE; the AUCs were 0.83, 0.76 and 0.76, respectively CONCLUSION: Compared with STDCTE with AIDR3D, LDCTE with DLR effectively reduced the radiation dose and improve image quality in IBD patients.

MRI radiomics enhances radiologists' ability for characterizing intestinal fibrosis in patients with Crohn's disease.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to develop MRI-based radiomic models (RMs) to improve the diagnostic accuracy of radiologists in characterizing intestinal fibrosis in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). METHODS: This retrospective study included patients with refractory CD who underwent MR before surgery from November 2013 to September 2021. Resected bowel segments were histologically classified as none-mild or moderate-severe fibrosis. RMs based on different MR sequence combinations (RM1: T2WI and enhanced-T1WI; RM2: T2WI, enhanced-T1WI, diffusion-weighted imaging [DWI], and apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC]); RM3: T2WI, enhanced-T1WI, DWI, ADC, and magnetization transfer MRI [MTI]), were developed and validated in an independent test cohort. The RMs' diagnostic performance was compared to that of visual interpretation using identical sequences and a clinical model. RESULTS: The final population included 123 patients (81 men, 42 women; mean age: 30.26 ± 7.98 years; training cohort, n = 93; test cohort, n = 30). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of RM1, RM2, and RM3 was 0.86 (p = 0.001), 0.88 (p = 0.001), and 0.93 (p = 0.02), respectively. The decision curve analysis confirmed a progressive improvement in the diagnostic performance of three RMs with the addition of more specific sequences. All RMs performance surpassed the visual interpretation based on the same MR sequences (visual model 1, AUC = 0.65, p = 0.56; visual model 2, AUC = 0.63, p = 0.04; visual model 3, AUC = 0.77, p = 0.002), as well as the clinical model composed of C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (AUC = 0.60, p = 0.13). CONCLUSIONS: The RMs, utilizing various combinations of conventional, DWI and MTI sequences, significantly enhance radiologists' ability to accurately characterize intestinal fibrosis in patients with CD. CRITICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: The utilization of MRI-based RMs significantly enhances the diagnostic accuracy of radiologists in characterizing intestinal fibrosis. KEY POINTS: MRI-based RMs can characterize CD intestinal fibrosis using conventional, diffusion, and MTI sequences. The RMs achieved AUCs of 0.86-0.93 for assessing fibrosis grade. MRI-radiomics outperformed visual interpretation for grading CD intestinal fibrosis.

In vitro and in vivo characteristics of hepatic oval cells modified with human hepatocyte growth factor.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a multifunctional growth factor that controls cell scattering. It has been suggested that it regulates the proliferation of hepatic oval cells (HOCs). Using a HOC line that stably expresses the human HGF gene (hHGF), we investigated the in vitro proliferation and differentiation characteristics of hHGF-modified HOCs and explored their potential capacity for intrahepatic transplantation. A modified 2-acetylaminofluorene and partial hepatectomy (2-AAF/PH) model was established to activate the proliferation of oval cells in the rat liver. HOCs were transfected with the pBLAST2-hHGF plasmid and hHGF-carrying HOCs were selected based on blasticidin resistance. The level of hHGF secretion was determined via ELISA. Cell proliferation was determined using the MTT assay. Differentiation was induced by growth factor withdrawal. A two-cuff technique was used for orthotopic liver transplantation, and HOCs or hHGF-modified HOCs were transplanted into the recipients. The levels of biochemical indicators of liver function were measured after transplantation. An HOC line stably expressing hHGF was established. The transfected line showed greater hHGF secretion than normal HOCs. The hHGF gene promoted the proliferation capability of HOCs by reducing the peak time in vitro. The hHGF-modified HOCs differentiated into hepatocytes and bile duct epithelial cells upon growth factor withdrawal in vitro. In addition, hHGF-modified HOC transplantation significantly prolonged the median survival time (MST) and improved the liver function of recipients compared to HOC transplant recipients and nontransplanted controls. Our results indicate that hHGF-modified HOCs may have valuable properties for therapeutic liver regeneration after orthotopic liver transplantation.