Comparative analysis of the performance of hepatobiliary agents in depicting MRI features of microvascular infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the ability to depict MRI features of hepatobiliary agents in microvascular infiltration (MVI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) during different stages of dynamic enhancement MRI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study included 111 HCC lesions scanned with either Gd-EOB-DTPA or Gd-BOPTA. All cases underwent multiphase dynamic contrast-enhanced scanning before surgery, including arterial phase (AP), portal venous phase (PVP), transitional phase (TP), delayed phase (DP), and hepatobiliary phase (HBP). Two abdominal radiologists independently evaluated MRI features of MVI in HCC, such as peritumoral hyperenhancement, incomplete capsule, non-smooth tumor margins, and peritumoral hypointensity. Finally, the results were reviewed by the third senior abdominal radiologist. Chi-square (χ2) Inspection for comparison between groups. P < 0.05 is considered statistically significant. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate correlation with pathology, and the area under the curve (AUC) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated. RESULTS: Among the four MVI evaluation signs, Gd-BOPTA showed significant differences in displaying two signs in the HBP (P < 0.05:0.000, 0.000), while Gd-EOB-DTPA exhibited significant differences in displaying all four signs (P < 0.05:0.005, 0.006, 0.000, 0.002). The results of the evaluations of the two contrast agents in the DP phase with incomplete capsulation showed the highest correlation with pathology (AUC: 0.843, 0.761). By combining the four MRI features, Gd-BOPTA and Gd-EOB-DTPA have correlated significantly with pathology, and Gd-BOPTA is better (AUC: 0.9312vs0.8712). CONCLUSION: The four features of hepatobiliary agent dynamic enhancement MRI demonstrate a good correlation with histopathological findings in the evaluation of MVI in HCC, and have certain clinical significance.

Comparison of the Ability of Gadobenate Dimeglumine and Gadolinium Ethoxybenzyl Dimeglumine to Display the major Features for Noninvasively Diagnosing Hepatocellular Carcinoma According to the LI-RADS 2018v.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the ability of gadolinium ethoxybenzyl dimeglumine (Gd-EOB-DTPA) and gadobenate dimeglumine (Gd-BOPTA) to display the 3 major features recommended by the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS 2018v) for diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, we included 98 HCC lesions that were scanned with either Gd-EOB-DTPA-MR or Gd-BOPTA-M.For each lesion, we collected multiple variables, including size and enhancement pattern in the arterial phase (AP), portal venous phase (PVP), transitional phase (TP), delayed phase (DP), and hepatobiliary phase (HBP). The lesion-to-liver contrast (LLC) was measured and calculated for each phase and then compared between the 2 contrast agents. A P value < .05 was considered statistically significant. The display efficiency of the LLC between Gd-BOPTA and Gd-EOB-DTPA for HCC features was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: Between Gd-BOPTA and Gd-EOB-DTPA, significant differences were observed regarding the display efficiency for capsule enhancement and the LLC in the AP/PVP/DP (P < .05), but there was no significant difference regarding the LLC in the TP/HBP. Both Gd-BOPTA and Gd-EOB-DTPA had good display efficiency in each phase (AUCmin > 0.750). When conducting a total evaluation of the combined data across the 5 phases, the display efficiency was excellent (AUC > 0.950). CONCLUSION: Gd-BOPTA and Gd-EOB-DTPA are liver-specific contrast agents widely used in clinical practice. They have their own characteristics in displaying the 3 main signs of HCC. For accurate noninvasive diagnosis, the choice of agent should be made according to the specific situation.

[Study on essential oil separation from Forsythia suspensa oil-bearing water body based on vapor permeation membrane separation technology].

To investigate the feasibility of vapor permeation membrane technology in separating essential oil from oil-water extract by taking the Forsythia suspensa as an example. The polydimethylsiloxane/polyvinylidene fluoride (PDMS/PVDF) composite flat membrane and a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) flat membrane was collected as the membrane material respectively. Two kinds of membrane osmotic liquids were collected by self-made vapor permeation device. The yield of essential oil separated and enriched from two kinds of membrane materials was calculated, and the microscopic changes of membrane materials were analyzed and compared. Meanwhile, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to compare and analyze the differences in chemical compositions of essential oil between traditional steam distillation, PVDF membrane enriched method and PDMS/PVDF membrane enriched method. The results showed that the yield of essential oil enriched by PVDF membrane was significantly higher than that of PDMS/PVDF membrane, and the GC-MS spectrum showed that the content of main compositions was higher than that of PDMS/PVDF membrane; The GC-MS spectra showed that the components of essential oil enriched by PVDF membrane were basically the same as those obtained by traditional steam distillation. The above results showed that vapor permeation membrane separation technology shall be feasible for the separation of Forsythia essential oil-bearing water body, and PVDF membrane was more suitable for separation and enrichment of Forsythia essential oil than PDMS/PVDF membrane.

Brønsted Acid Enabled Nickel-Catalyzed Hydroalkenylation of Aldehydes with Styrene and its Derivatives.

A Brønsted acid enabled nickel-catalyzed hydroalkenylation of aldehydes and styrene derivatives has been developed. The Brønsted acid acts as a proton shuttle to transfer a proton from the alkene to the aldehyde, thereby leading to an economical and byproduct-free coupling. A series of synthetically useful allylic alcohols were obtained through one-step reactions from readily available styrene derivatives and aliphatic aldehydes in up to 88 % yield and with high linear selectivity.