Feasibility of artificial intelligence diagnosis of pulmonary nodules on virtual non-contrast images derived from dual-layer spectral detector CT / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective:To evaluate the feasibility of artificial intelligence (AI) diagnosis of pulmonary nodules on virtual non-contrast(VNC) images derived from dual-layer detector spectral CT.Methods:Totally 52 patients who underwent non-contrast and dual-phase enhanced chest CT scan from May 2022 to November 2022 were enrolled in this study. The VNC images of lung were reconstructed based on venous phase data. CT values and image noise of lung parenchyma, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were measured. The dose-length product (DLP) of each scan was recorded and the effective dose ( E) was calculated. All of the objective indicators of image quality and radiation dose were compared by Paired t test. Image quality was evaluated subjectively by two radiologists and compared with Wilcoxon non-parametric test. Wilcoxon symbolic rank test was used to compare the sensitivity and false positive detection rate (FPDR) of AI diagnosis between two groups. Results:Compared with TNC, the noise of venous VNC image was decreased by 13.8%, SNR increased by 14.9%, and both of DLP and E decreased by 33.3% ( t=5.82, -5.35, 22.93, 22.92, P <0.05). There were no significant differences in CT values and subjective scores between 2 groups ( P >0.05). For different types of pulmonary nodules, there was no statistical difference in the sensitivity of AI diagnosis between two groups ( P >0.05). For solid nodules with diameter ≤4 mm and all pulmonary nodules in general, FPDR in VNC group was slightly increased with statistical significance ( Z=-2.03, -3.09, P<0.05), while for other types of pulmonary nodules, there was no statistical difference ( P >0.05). Conclusions:The VNC images of thoracic venous phase based on spectral CT can significantly reduce the radiation dose of patients while the image quality and the AI diagnostic sensitivity of pulmonary nodules remain unchanged, and the FPDR without significantly increase. And it could replace TNC for daily routine.

A non-coated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for screening zika virus envelope protein / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To establish a non-coated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on zika virus envelope (E) protein for detecting the expression of E protein in infected cells.@*METHODS@#Adherent Vero-143 cells infected with zika virus in a 96-well plate were fixed, and the antibodies against zika virus E protein were added at an optimized concentration to establish the non-coated ELISA method for E protein. The antiviral activities of lignans compound C1 was evaluated using this method. The accuracy of this non-coated ELISA was verified by RT-PCR, and the cross reaction with dengue virus was assessed.@*RESULTS@#After optimization, the background absorbance at 450 nm of uninfected cells was reduced to about 0.20. The antiviral activities of lignans compound C1 detected by this method were basically consistent with the results of RT-PCR. No cross reaction with dengue virus was found in this assay.@*CONCLUSIONS@#A non- coated ELISA method based on zika virus E protein was established, which can be used for screening antiviral agents against zika virus.

Protective effect of ligustrazine and propofol on peri-operational liver ischemia-reperfusion injury / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the protective effect and mechanism of ligustrazine (LGT) and propofol (PRO) on peri-operational liver ischemia-reperfusion injury (HIRI).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty-six patients scheduled for hepatic surgery were randomly divided into the control group, the LGT group, the PRO group and the LGT + PRO group, 9 patients in each group. Changes of superoxide dismutase (SOD), lipid peroxide (LPO), ratio of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha (6-keto-PGF1alpha), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, and the ultrastructure of liver tissue were dynamically observed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the control group, SOD activity was significantly higher, LPO concentration, TXB2/6-keto-PGF1alpha ratio and ALT value were significantly lower (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01) in the LGT group, the PRO group and the LGT + PRO group during HIRI, with the abnormal changes of hepatic ultrastructure 25 min after reperfusion significantly alleviated in the three treated group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Combination of ligustrazine and propofol shows protective effect on liver by decreasing oxygen free radical level, reducing lipid peroxidation and adjusting TXA2/PGI2 imbalance after hepatic ischemia-reperfusion in patients undergoing hepatic cancer surgery.</p>