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Objective To investigate the role of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in indeterminate solitary pulmonary nodules (SPN) diagnosis and to compare with conventional diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). Methods From March 2016 to Dec 2017, forty-three consecutive patients (30 male, 13 female, age: 56 ± 11 years) with indeterminate SPNs were included. All patients underwent axial multi-b factor DWI (with b values=0, 50, 200, 400, 800, 1400, 2000 s/mm2) examination and were divided into benign group (19 cases) and malignant group (24 cases) according to pathological results of SPN. ADC Kurtosis (K) and Diffusivity (Dk) values were compared between malignant and benign group and among different subtypes of lung cancer using independent t test (normal distribution and homogeneity of variance) and Mann-Whitney U test (skewed distribution or variance). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were employed to evaluate the diagnostic performance. Results K values were significantly higher for malignant SPNs than for benign SPNs (0.839 ± 0.197 vs. 0.718 ± 0.120;t=2.359, P=0.023). ADC values were found to be significantly higher in benignity than malignant SPNs [(1.605 ± 0.422) × 10-3mm2/s vs. (1.278 ± 0.210) × 10-3mm2/s; t=-3.089, P=0.005). No difference was observed in Dk between the two groups (P=0.922). All parameters cannot differentiate subtypes of lung cancer. The ADC value had higher AUC (area under ROC curve) than that of K value. The sensitivity (70.8％) and accuracy (72.1％) of ADC value was higher than K value, the specificity of both methods was equal. Conclusion DKI is a feasible non-invasive tool which has comparable capability of conventional DWI in SPNs differentiation, although with lower sensitivity and accuracy. DKI can provide additional information for SPNs characterization and has a potential to be a robust way in SPNs interpretation.
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Objective To explore the effect of ATP fluorescence detection on on-site monitoring and supervision of healthcare-associated infection management .Methods ATP bioluminescence analyzer was used to detect the con-tamination status of hands of health care workers(HCWs),the object surfaces,and the cleaning tools in all quarters of 2015,the detection results were timely given feedback,and improvement measures were put forward.Results A total of 1 294 specimens were detected,the overall qualified rate was 62.75%.The qualified rates of hands of HC-Ws,object surfaces,and cleaning tools increased from 54.35%,50.30%,and 60.26% in the first quarter to 76.42%,64.80%,and 79.52% in the fourth quarter respectively,tendency chi-square test showed that difference was statistically significant (all P <0.05).The median of relative light unit (RLU)of hands of HCWs,object sur-faces,and cleaning tools were 20.00,85.00,and 35.00,respectively.Conclusion ATP fluorescence detection for on-site monitoring and supervision for cleaning and disinfection effect can promote the continuous quality improve-ment of hand hygiene and environmental cleanliness.
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Objective To construct the eukaryotic expression vector harboring the fragment of Alia gene, and to investigate the effects of it on the signal of quorum sensing and virulence factors producted by Pseudomonas aeruginosa(Pa). Methods The plasmid pET-AiiA was cutted by Nhe Ⅰ and Xho Ⅰ , then the AiiA fragment was cloned into eukaryotic expression vector pEGFP-N2. After the plasmid was transfected into A549 cells, the protein was extracted and AiiA protein was found in it by Western blot. After the extrac- tion was admixed into the LB broth, from culture supernatant extracts of Pa, the N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) was detected by bioassay, and the expression of pyocyanin and elastase were assayed by RT-PCR and optical density. Results The fragment of AiiA gene was cutted and then cloned into pEGFP-N2. AiiA protein was found in the transfected cells. After admixed with the extract harboring AiiA protein, in Pa medium, the AHL was hydrolyzed, and the expression of pyocyanin and elastase were reduced. Conclusion The virulence factors synthesized by Pa were reduced by the AiiA protein expressed in eukaryotic cell.
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In order to confirm the alteration and significance of cigarette smoke exposure on SP-A in rats, 20 Wistar rats were assigned randomly to two groups: an N group (n=10), and an S group (n=10). The ultra-structural change was observed by electron microscopy. The number of cells positive for SPA was by immunohistochemically measured. The mRNA expression in the lung tissues was determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The number of cells positive for SPA of the S group (0.52 +/- 0.05) was lower than that of the N group (0.72+/-0.06) (P<0.05). The levels of mRNA of SPA in the lung tissues of the S group (0.3522+/-0.0512) was significantly lower than that of the N group (0.4432+/-0.05628) (P<0.05). It is concluded that cigarette smoke alone decreased the level of SP-A and that might have an important effect on surfactant metabolism and the host defense functions of surfactant in the peripheral airways, which might play a crucial role in the development of chronic obstructive lung disease.
Subject(s)
Gene Expression Regulation , Immunohistochemistry/methods , Lung/metabolism , Microscopy, Electron , Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Protein A/biosynthesis , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Rats, Wistar , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Smoking/adverse effects , Tobacco Smoke Pollution/adverse effectsABSTRACT
To establish a better method of primary culture for alveolar epithelial type Ⅱ cells (AEC Ⅱ) and to study its bionomics, alveolar epithelial type Ⅱ cells were isolated by digestion with tryp- sin and collagenase, which were then purified by plated into culture flask coated with rat immu- noglobulin G. The purified AEC Ⅱ were identified by alkaline phosphatase staining, electron mi-croscopy, immunocytochemical staining of pulmonary surfactant protein A (SPA). The SPA expres-sion and transfection characteristics were compared with those of A549 cell line. The results showed that AEC Ⅱ could be isolated by digestion with trysin and collagenase and purified by adhesive pu- rification by using IgG, with a yield of about 2-3×107, and a purity of about 75%-84 %. Cells could be quickly identified with AKP staining. AEC Ⅱ were different from A549 cell line in terms of SPA expression and transfection characteristics. It is concluded that adhesive purification with IgG can improve the purity of AEC Ⅱ, and AKP staining is simple in cell identification. AEC Ⅱ can not be completely replaced by A549 cells in some studies because the differences between them, such as SPA expression.
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AIM:To clone the SPA gene promoter and construct its luciferase report vector of SPA gene and to study its transcriptional targeting activity.METHODS:① The SPA gene sequence was acquired from GenBank,of which the upstream was analyzed according to bioinformatics.The results showed that the upstream region of SPA gene sequence about 163bp has the function of promoter.② The SPA gene promoter fragment was generated by polymerase chain reaction and then subcloned into the multiple clone site(MCS)of luciferase report gene vector pGL3-basic to generate the recombined plasmid pGL3-SPA.This fragment was also subcloned into pGL3-control to generate recombined plasmid pGL3-SPA-enhancer by replacing its primary SV40 promoter.③ pGL3-SPA,pGL3-SPA-enhancer,pGL3-control,pGL3-basic were cotransfected with pRL-TK into A549 cells and H441 cells.The luciferase activities were measured by dual luciferase reportor(DLR)system.RESULTS:Sequencing and restricted digestive results showed that SPA gene promoter was successfully cloned and identified,and also correctly subcloned into plasmid pGL3-basic and pGL3-control to construct its luciferase report plasmid pGL3-SPA and pGL3-SPA-enhancer,respectively.The transcriptional activity was high in H441 cells.CONCLUSION:The luciferase report system of SPA gene promoter is successfully constructed with high transcriptional activity.