A systematic review and meta-analysis of magnetic resonance and computed tomography enterography in the diagnosis of small intestinal tumors.

Objective: To explore the potential value of magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) enterography in the diagnosis of small intestinal tumor (SIT). Methods: Articles reporting on the diagnosis of SIT by MR and CT enterography deposited in Chinese and foreign literature databases were identified and evaluated using the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS). The diagnostic data extracted from the articles were adopted for meta-analysis using Meta-disc 1.40 software. Analysis was undertaken to compare the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of MR and CT enterography in the diagnosis of SIT. The diagnostic values of the two imaging methods were analyzed by summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves. The meta-analysis was registered at INPLASY (202380053). Results: A total of eight articles, including 551 cases of SIT were included in this analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of MR enterography were 0.92 (95% CI [0.89-0.95]) and 0.81 (95% CI [0.74-0.86]), respectively, whilst CT enterography had a sensitivity of 0.93 (95% CI [0.90-0.95]) and a specificity of 0.83 (95% CI [0.76-0.88]). For MR enterography, the combined positive likelihood ratio was 4.90 (95% CI [3.50-6.70]), the combined negative likelihood ratio was 0.10 (95% CI [0.07-0.14]), and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was 0.940. For CT enterography, the corresponding values were 5.40 (95% CI [3.90-7.40]), 0.08 (95% CI [0.06-0.12]), and 0.950, respectively. When the pretest probability for MR was assumed to be 50%, the posterior probabilities for positive and negative results were calculated as 83% and 9%, respectively. For CT enterography with a pretest probability of 50%, the posterior probabilities of positive and negative results were 84% and 8%, respectively. Conclusion: MR and CT enterography have high accuracy in the diagnosis of SIT and have a valuable role in the diagnosis and management of these tumors.

Enhancement and Manipulation of Near-Field Thermal Radiation Using Hybrid Hyperbolic Polaritons.

Owing to a high electromagnetic confinement and a strong photonic density of states, hyperbolic surface plasmon polaritons (HSPPs) provide a fascinating promise for applications in thermal photonics. In this work, we theoretically predict a possibility for the improvement of the near-field radiative heat transfer on the basis of tailoring the electromagnetic state of hyperbolic metasurfaces by the uniaxial hyperbolic substrate. By using the photonic tunneling coefficient and the polaritons dispersion, we present a comprehensive study of the hybrid effect of the hyperbolic substrate on HSPPs. We find that due to the hybrid effect of the hyperbolic substrate, the anisotropy surface state of hyperbolic metasurfaces would undergo significant deformations and even topological transition. Moreover, we systematically exhibit the evolution of such hybrid hyperbolic mode with different thicknesses of the hyperbolic substrate and analyze the thickness effect on radiative properties of the hybrid system. It is shown that the resulting heat transfer with the assistance of the hybrid hyperbolic mode by optimizing the substrate parameters is many times stronger than that of monolayer hyperbolic metasurface at the same vacuum gap. Taken together, our results provide a platform to tailor 2D hyperbolic plasmons as a potential strategy toward passive or active control of the near-field heat transfer, and the hybrid hyperbolic mode presented here may facilitate the system design for near-field energy harvesting, thermal imaging, and radiative cooling applications.

Prenatal diagnosis of skeletal dysplasias using whole exome sequencing in China.

BACKGROUND: Skeletal dysplasias account for nearly 10% of fetal structural malformations detected by ultrasonography. This clinically heterogeneous group of genetic anomaly includes at least 461 genetic skeletal disorders with extreme clinical, phenotypic, and genetic heterogeneities, thus, significantly complicates accurate diagnosis. Researches have used whole exome sequencing (WES) for prenatal molecular diagnoses of skeletal dysplasias, however, data are still limited. METHODS: DNA extracted from umbilical cord blood or amniocytes from fetuses suspected of skeletal dysplasias based on ultrasound evaluations were analyzed by WES. Blood samples were taken from the parents of the positive fetuses for co-segregation analysis using Sanger sequencing. RESULT: Definitive molecular diagnosis was made in 6/8 (75%) cases, comprised of 5 de novo disease-causing changes in 3 genes (FGFR3, COL2A1, and COL1A2) and one proband with a biallelic deficiency for Lamin B Receptor(LBR),and including 3 novel variants. All fetuses had no detectable copy number variation (CNV) from sequencing results. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that WES is an efficient approach for prenatal diagnosis of fetuses suspected of skeletal abnormalities and contributes to parental genetics counseling and pregnancy management.

The outer membrane protein Tp92 of Treponema pallidum induces human mononuclear cell death and IL-8 secretion.

Treponema pallidum is the pathogen that causes syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease; however, the pathogenic mechanism of this organism remains unclear. Tp92 is the only T. pallidum outer membrane protein that has structural features similar to the outer membrane proteins of other Gram-negative bacteria, but the exact functions of this protein remain unknown. In the present study, we demonstrated that the recombinant Tp92 protein can induce human mononuclear cell death. Tp92 mediated the human monocytic cell line derived from an acute monicytic leukemia patient (THP-1) cell death by recognizing CD14 and/or TLR2 on cell surfaces. After the stimulation of THP-1 cells by the Tp92 protein, Tp92 may induce atypical pyroptosis of THP-1 cells via the pro-caspase-1 pathway. Meanwhile, this protein caused the apoptosis of THP-1 cells via the receptor-interacting protein kinase 1/caspase-8/aspase-3 pathway. Tp92 reduced the number of monocytes among peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Interestingly, further research showed that Tp92 failed to increase the tumour necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, IL-10, IL-18 and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP)-1 levels but slightly elevated the IL-8 levels via the Nuclear Factor (NF)-κB pathway in THP-1 cells. The data suggest that Tp92 recognizes CD14 and TLR2, transfers the signal to a downstream pathway, and activates NF-κB to mediate the production of IL-8. This mechanism may help T. pallidum escape recognition and elimination by the host innate immune system.