Bacterial networks and enzyme genes in bacterial floccules from hydrolysis and aeration reactors in a dairy wastewater treatment system.

The dairy industry generates substantial wastewater, which is commonly treated using integrated anaerobic hydrolysis and aerated biofilm reactors. However, the bacterial composition and functional differences within the generated floccules remain unclear. In this study, we employed 16S rRNA and metagenomic sequencing to compare bacterial communities and enzyme gene profiles between suspended floccules from the hydrolysis ponds and the aeration ponds. Results revealed that the bacterial phyla Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, dominated the wastewater treatment system and the relative abundance of these bacterial phyla varied in each pond. Additionally, the aeration ponds exhibited higher bacterial OTUs and enzyme gene abundance. Network analysis demonstrated a more complex bacterial network structure in the hydrolysis ponds compared to the aeration ponds. Furthermore, enzyme gene abundance revealed higher metabolic enzyme genes in the hydrolysis ponds, while signal transduction enzyme genes were more abundant in the aeration ponds. Notably, the top ten bacterial genera, primarily Hydromonas in the hydrolysis ponds and Ferruginibacter in the aeration ponds exhibited distinct contributions to signal transduction enzyme genes. Hydromonas dominated the metabolic enzyme genes in both ponds. These findings provide crucial insights for optimizing dairy wastewater treatment technologies.

Information Geometry Theoretic Measures for Characterizing Neural Information Processing from Simulated EEG Signals.

In this work, we explore information geometry theoretic measures for characterizing neural information processing from EEG signals simulated by stochastic nonlinear coupled oscillator models for both healthy subjects and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients with both eyes-closed and eyes-open conditions. In particular, we employ information rates to quantify the time evolution of probability density functions of simulated EEG signals, and employ causal information rates to quantify one signal's instantaneous influence on another signal's information rate. These two measures help us find significant and interesting distinctions between healthy subjects and AD patients when they open or close their eyes. These distinctions may be further related to differences in neural information processing activities of the corresponding brain regions, and to differences in connectivities among these brain regions. Our results show that information rate and causal information rate are superior to their more traditional or established information-theoretic counterparts, i.e., differential entropy and transfer entropy, respectively. Since these novel, information geometry theoretic measures can be applied to experimental EEG signals in a model-free manner, and they are capable of quantifying non-stationary time-varying effects, nonlinearity, and non-Gaussian stochasticity presented in real-world EEG signals, we believe that they can form an important and powerful tool-set for both understanding neural information processing in the brain and the diagnosis of neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease as presented in this work.

Erythrobacter aurantius sp. nov., isolated from intertidal seawater in Taizhou.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, chemoheterotrophic and rod-shaped strain, designated as C5T, was isolated from intertidal surface seawater in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, PR China and characterized using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. Strain C5T could produce carotenoids and bacteriochlorophyll a. Growth was observed at 20-45 °C, at pH 6.0-9.0 and with 0-8.0 % (w/v) NaCl. The 16S rRNA gene sequence identity analysis revealed that strain C5T was the most closely related to Qipengyuania nanhaisediminis CGMCC 1.7715T (98.8%) and Erythrobacter litoralis DSM 8509T (98.7%). The phylogenetic reconstruction based on core genes demonstrated that strain C5T was clustered into the members of the genus Erythrobacter. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between strain C5T and Erythrobacter type strains were lower than 76 and 25 %, respectively. The predominant and minor respiratory quinones were identified as ubiquinone-10 and ubiquinone-9. The major fatty acids were summed feature 8 (C18 : 1 ω7c and/or C18 : 1 ω6c) and iso-C18 : 0. Polar lipids included phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, a glycosphingolipid and an unidentified aminolipid. Based on the genetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data, strain C5T is concluded to represent a novel species in the genus Erythrobacter, for which the name Erythrobacter aurantius sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is C5T (=MCCC 1K05108T=KCTC 92307T).

Diffusion-weighted MRI for predicting pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer: evaluation with mono-, bi-, and stretched-exponential models.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the performance of diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI with mono-, bi- and stretched-exponential models in predicting pathologic complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) for breast cancer, and further outline a predictive model of pCR combining DW MRI parameters, contrast-enhanced (CE) MRI findings, and/or clinical-pathologic variables. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 144 women who underwent NACT and subsequently received surgery for invasive breast cancer were included. Breast MRI including multi-b-value DW imaging was performed before (pre-treatment), after two cycles (mid-treatment), and after all four cycles (post-treatment) of NACT. Quantitative DW imaging parameters were computed according to the mono-exponential (apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC]), bi-exponential (pseudodiffusion coefficient and perfusion fraction), and stretched-exponential (distributed diffusion coefficient and intravoxel heterogeneity index) models. Tumor size and relative enhancement ratio of the tumor were measured on contrast-enhanced MRI at each time point. Pre-treatment parameters and changes in parameters at mid- and post-treatment relative to baseline were compared between pCR and non-pCR groups. Receiver operating characteristic analysis and multivariate regression analysis were performed. RESULTS: Of the 144 patients, 54 (37.5%) achieved pCR after NACT. Overall, among all DW and CE MRI measures, flow-insensitive ADC change (ΔADC200,1000) at mid-treatment showed the highest diagnostic performance for predicting pCR, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.831 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.747, 0.915; P < 0.001). The model combining pre-treatment estrogen receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 statuses and mid-treatment ΔADC200,1000 improved the AUC to 0.905 (95% CI: 0.843, 0.966; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Mono-exponential flow-insensitive ADC change at mid-treatment was a predictor of pCR after NACT in breast cancer.

Halomonas populi sp. nov. isolated from Populus euphratica.

Three yellow-pigmented, Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile by flagella and rod-shaped strains, designated as MCT, PC and RC, were isolated from stems of Populus euphratica. Growth of those three strains occurs at 4-40 °C, pH 6.0-10.0 and with 0.5-18.0% (w/v) NaCl. Respiratory quinones contained ubiquinone-9 and ubiquione-8 as major and minor components, respectively. Major fatty acids (> 10%) were summed feature 8 (C18:1ω6c and/or C18:1ω7c), summed feature 3 (C16:1ω6c and/or C16:1ω7c) and C16:0. Polar lipids included diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, two unidentified phospholipids, one unidentified aminolipid, one unidentified glycolipid and four unidentified lipids. Strains MCT, PC and RC shared pairwise 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of 99.9-100.0%, and showed higher similarities of 98.4-98.5% with Halomonas songnenensis NEAU-ST10-39T and 98.3-98.4% with Halomonas nanhaiensis YIM M 13059T than to other Halomonas type strains. Genomic comparisons revealed that those three strains had the pan-genome consisting of 4446 orthologous clusters, among which 676 orthologous clusters were absent in other Halomonas type strains. Phylogenomic tree indicated that strains MCT, PC and RC formed an independently stable clade with Halomonas nanhaiensis YIM M 13059T and Halomonas songnenensis NEAU-ST10-39T. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values between those three strains and other Halomonas type strains were < 89.9% and < 39.3%, respectively. Based upon phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, phylogenetic and genomic results, strains MCT, PC and RC represent a novel species in the genus Halomonas, for which the name Halomonas populi sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MCT (= JCM 33545T = MCCC 1K03942T).

Screen Key Genes Associated with Distraction-Induced Osteogenesis of Stem Cells Using Bioinformatics Methods.

Background: Applying mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), together with the distraction osteogenesis (DO) process, displayed enhanced bone quality and shorter treatment periods. The DO guides the differentiation of MSCs by providing mechanical clues. However, the underlying key genes and pathways are largely unknown. The aim of this study was to screen and identify hub genes involved in distraction-induced osteogenesis of MSCs and potential molecular mechanisms. Material and Methods: The datasets were downloaded from the ArrayExpress database. Three samples of negative control and two samples subjected to 5% cyclic sinusoidal distraction at 0.25 Hz for 6 h were selected for screening differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and then analysed via bioinformatics methods. The Gene Ontology (GO) terms and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment were investigated. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was visualised through the Cytoscape software. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was conducted to verify the enrichment of a self-defined osteogenic gene sets collection and identify osteogenic hub genes. Results: Three hub genes (IL6, MMP2, and EP300) that were highly associated with distraction-induced osteogenesis of MSCs were identified via the Venn diagram. These hub genes could provide a new understanding of distraction-induced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs and serve as potential gene targets for optimising DO via targeted therapies.

Do Histological Features of Eosinophilic Esophagitis in Children Correlate With Peripheral Eosinophils?

AIM: Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory disease of the esophagus. We investigate whether peripheral eosinophils can be a good indicator of esophageal eosinophilia and whether they correlate with histological findings, such as basilar hyperplasia, spongiosis, microabscesses, number of lymphocytes, and number of neutrophils. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted with EoE patients ages <18 years after obtaining IRB approval. Biopsies obtained from 57 EoE patients were analyzed. Patient demographics, symptoms; complete blood count with differentials obtained at the time of endoscopies or within a month of the procedure, were documented. RESULTS: A significant correlation was observed between peripheral absolute eosinophil count (AEC) and peak esophageal eosinophil count (P value: 0.0009). Subjects with biopsies suggestive of ongoing disease activity or active status had a higher mean of AEC at 577.41 ±â€Š202.60 compared with subjects with inactivity with mean of 305.26 ±â€Š526.67. However, when the subjects were broadly divided with 500 AEC as a cut off (<500 and >500 AEC), it was found that, out of 27 EoE inactive patients, 24 had AEC count less than or equal to 500 and out of 66 EoE active patients, 32 had AEC more than 500. CONCLUSION: Active EoE status meant a higher mean of AEC compared with inactive status; but AEC was not found to be a sensitive tool for detecting active EoE.

Evaluation of anemia, malnutrition, mineral, and bone disorder for maintenance hemodialysis patients based on bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA).

BACKGROUND: ESRD (End-stage renal disease) treatment is a comprehensive medical process and requires numerous serological biochemical tests (SBTs) in diagnosis. To reduce these invasive, expensive, cumbersome, and time-consuming SBTs, there is a need to develop an alternative serological biochemical composition evaluation method. Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is affected by body's chemical and physical components, which might be correlated with serological biochemical composition and can be potentially used to evaluate biochemical composition in hemodialysis patient treatments. In this work, the relationship of classic and specific bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) with major serological biochemical indexes in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients was examined. METHODS: Bioelectrical and biochemical datasets were measured from 280 women and 408 men and formed 3872 effective biochemical-bioelectrical records in total. Statistical analysis was performed. RESULTS: The results show that BIVA vectors have strong relationship with phosphorus, hemoglobin, and PTH in both male and female groups. Strong correlation was also observed between Ca, albumin, CHOL, LDLC, and BIVA vectors in the male group. In the female group, a significant correlation was observed between classic BIVA values and NT-proBNP. SVM models are effective for classifying biochemical indexes. CONCLUSIONS: The obtained correlations and SVM classification models imply that BIVA can be used as a preliminary tool to evaluate and classify the degree of anemia, malnutrition, fluid overload, and mineral and bone disorder (MBD) in MHD patients by reducing the number of SBTs.

A comprehensive and comparative review of optimal cut-points selection methods for diseases with multiple ordinal stages.

Cut-points selection is a key topic in the field of diagnostic studies. For binary classification, there exist several well-developed methods, some of which have been extended to three-class settings and beyond. This paper focuses on optimal cut-points selection methods for diseases with multiple ordinal stages. The purpose of this paper is two-fold: 1) to propose three new cut-points selection methods; and 2) to present a comprehensive simulation study to assess and compare the performance of all the available methods. Two real data sets, one from ovarian cancer and the other from pancreatic cancer, are analyzed.

Added value of mean and entropy of apparent diffusion coefficient values for evaluating histologic phenotypes of invasive ductal breast cancer with MR imaging.

OBJECTIVES: To study the added value of mean and entropy of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values at standard (800 s/mm2) and high (1500 s/mm2) b-values obtained with diffusion-weighted imaging in identifying histologic phenotypes of invasive ductal breast cancer (IDC) with MR imaging. METHODS: One hundred thirty-four IDC patients underwent diffusion-weighted imaging with b-values of 800 and 1500 s/mm2, and corresponding ADC800 and ADC1500 maps were generated. Mean and entropy of volumetric ADC values were compared with molecular markers (estrogen receptor [ER], progesterone receptor [PR], human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2], and Ki-67). Associations among morphologic features, ADC metrics, and phenotypes (luminal A, luminal B [HER2 negative], luminal B [HER2 positive], HER2 positive, and triple negative) were evaluated. RESULTS: Mean ADC values were significantly decreased in ER-positive, PR-positive, and HER2-negative tumors (p < 0.01). Ki-67 ≥ 20% tumors demonstrated significantly higher ADC entropy values compared with Ki-67 < 20% tumors (p < 0.001). Luminal A subtype tended to display lower ADC entropy values compared with other subtypes, while HER2-positive subtype tended to display higher mean ADC values. ADC1500 entropy provided superior diagnostic performance over ADC800 entropy (p = 0.04). Independent risk factors were ADC1500 entropy (p = 0.002) associated with luminal A, irregular mass shape (p = 0.018) and ADC1500 entropy (p = 0.022) with luminal B (HER2 positive), mean ADC1500 (p = 0.018) with HER2 positive, and smooth mass margin (p = 0.012) and rim enhancement (p = 0.003) with triple negative. CONCLUSIONS: Mean and entropy of ADC values provided complementary information and added value for evaluating IDC histologic phenotypes. High-b-value ADC1500 may facilitate better phenotype discrimination. KEY POINTS: • ADC metrics are associated with molecular marker status in IDC. • ADC 1500 improves differentiation of histologic phenotypes compared with ADC 800 . • ADC metrics add value to morphologic features in IDC phenotyping.

Role of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Polymorphisms in Atrial Fibrillation: A PRISMA-Compliant Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND Research interest in endothelial nitric oxide synthase(eNOS) polymorphisms and atrial fibrillation (AF) has grown in last recent years, but the results of individual studies are inconsistent due to their small sample sizes. MATERIAL AND METHODS We searched databases for eligible studies on eNOS and AF, extracted the relevant data, and rigorously screened them according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, we evaluated the study quality according to the Newcastle-Ottawa scale score, and we pooled the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by using a random-effects model or fixed-effects model based on inter-study heterogeneity. In addition, we performed subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis and assessed publication bias. RESULTS According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, we finally found 8 studies in this search. The recessive (OR=0.81; 95% CI=0.67 to 0.97; p=0.988; I²=0.0%) model showed that the eNOS 786T/C polymorphism was relevant to AF. We also found that the eNOS 786T/C polymorphism decreases the risk of AF, especially in white people (OR=0.81; 95% CI=0.67 to 0.97; P=0.023 for recessive model) and in the control population (OR=0.79; 95% CI=0.65 to 0.97; P=0.022 for recessive model). We found no obvious publication bias. CONCLUSIONS The eNOS gene loci 786T/C polymorphism is relevant to the risk of AF. Our results suggest that the 786T/C polymorphism significantly decreases AF risks in white people and control populations. Larger studies are required for further evaluation.

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Gene Polymorphism (G-308A) and Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

The issue that genetic polymorphism of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is associated with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is debatable. We sought to investigate the potential role of TNF-α gene polymorphism (G-308A) in the susceptibility to dilated cardiomyopathy.We retrieved PubMed, EMBASE, and CNKI to collect all articles which reported on the association between TNF-α G-308A polymorphism and dilated cardiomyopathy. Two authors used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) checklist to assess the quality of the included studies. The odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were pooled in a specific genetic model to assess the association and Stata version 14.0 software was used.A total of 9 studies with 1338 patients and 1677 controls were included in this study. The results from this meta-analysis indicated that TNF-α G-308A polymorphism significantly increased the risk of dilated cardiomyopathy in heterozygous comparison (GA versus GG: OR = 1.87; 95%CI = 1.03-3.40; P < 0.05). The increased risk of DCM was also found in Asian populations using a dominant model and heterozygous comparison (GA+AA versus GG: OR = 2.00, 95%CI = 1.02-3.92, P < 0.05; GA versus GG: OR = 1.94, 95%CI = 1.23-3.06, P < 0.05).The current meta-analysis revealed that TNF-α gene polymorphism (G-308A) may be associated with the susceptibility to DCM.

[Association of YKL-40 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid with airway damage in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of YKL-40 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) with airway damage in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP). METHODS: A total of 60 children with MPP who were admitted to the hospital were enrolled as the MPP group, and 12 children with bronchial foreign bodies were enrolled as the control group. According to the imaging findings, the MPP group was further divided into 3 subgroups: pulmonary patchy shadow (n=34), pulmonary consolidation (n=19) and pulmonary ground-glass opacity (n=7). According to the bronchoscopic findings, the MPP group was further divided into 3 subgroups: mucosal congestion/edema (n=38), mucous secretion (n=18) and plastic bronchitis (n=4). The clinical manifestations and laboratory characteristics of the children with MPP were analyzed, the expression of YKL-40 in BALF was measured. RESULTS: The MPP group had significantly higher levels of serum lactate dehydrogenase and BALF YKL-40 than the control group (P<0.05). The pulmonary consolidation subgroup had significantly higher levels of serum C-reactive protein and lactate dehydrogenase than the pulmonary patchy shadow subgroup (P<0.05), and the pulmonary consolidation and pulmonary ground-glass opacity subgroups had a significantly higher level of BALF YKL-40 than the pulmonary patchy shadow subgroup (P<0.05). The plastic bronchitis subgroup had a significantly higher level of BALF YKL-40 than the mucous secretion and mucosal congestion/edema subgroups (P<0.05). The mucous secretion and plastic bronchitis subgroups had a significantly higher proportion of children with shortness of breath than the mucosal congestion/edema subgroup (P<0.05). The plastic bronchitis subgroup had significantly higher serum levels of C-reactive protein and lactate dehydrogenase than the mucosal congestion/edema subgroup (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The level of BALF YKL-40 is associated with airway damage and disease severity in children with MPP.

Dynamic cyclic compression modulates the chondrogenic phenotype in human chondrocytes from late stage osteoarthritis.

Human osteoarthritic chondrocytes (hOACs) are characterized by their "dedifferentiated" and catabolic phenotype and lack the ability for restoring their inherent functions by themselves. Here we investigated whether extrinsically supplemented mechanical signal via compression loading would affect the phenotype of hOACs. Specifically, we applied cyclic compression loading on cultured hOACs-collagen constructs and measured the expression of the major chondrogenic factors, cell-matrix interaction molecules and matrix degradation enzymes. Dynamic compression loading stimulates the expression and nuclear localization of sox9 in hOACs and reduces the catabolic events via downregulated expression of collagenases. These results contribute to better understanding towards mechanoregulation of hOACs.

Multiparametric diffusion-weighted imaging in breast lesions: Association with pathologic diagnosis and prognostic factors.

PURPOSE: To determine the utility of multiparametric diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) including monoexponential (apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC]), biexponential (Df , Ds , and f), stretched-exponential (distributed diffusion coefficient [DDC] and α), and kurtosis (mean diffusivity [MD] and mean kurtosis [MK]) models in the differentiation and characterization of breast lesions, and assess their associations with prognostic factors in invasive breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 101 patients (44 benign and 57 malignant lesions) who underwent 3T breast multi-b-value DWI. Diffusion model selection was investigated in benign and malignant lesions using the Akaike information criteria (AIC). Mann-Whitney U-test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Goodness-of-fit analysis showed that most benign lesion voxels (50.5%) were preferred by the kurtosis model, and most malignant lesion voxels (51.2%) by the stretched-exponential model. All diffusion measures showed significant differences between benign and malignant lesions (P < 0.05), and between in situ and invasive cancers (P < 0.05) except MD (P = 0.103). There were no significant differences in areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) between ADC and non-monoexponential diffusion parameters (P > 0.05), except Df and α, whose AUCs were significantly lower than AUC of ADC for differentiating benign from malignant lesions (P = 0.03 and P < 0.01, respectively). In patients with invasive breast cancer, α was significantly correlated with tumor size (P = 0.007) and Ki-67 expression (P = 0.012), Df was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.021) and Ki-67 expression (P = 0.042), and ADC, Ds , f, DDC, and MD were significantly correlated with estrogen receptor status (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Multiparametric DWI shows relationships with pathologic outcomes and prognostic factors of breast lesions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;46:740-750.

Simultaneous determination of furfural and its degradation products, furoic acid and maleic acid, in transformer oil by the reversed-phase vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography.

To explore why the use of furfural as a transformer oil-paper insulation aging characteristic is problematic in real world application, we developed a method for the simultaneous determination of furfural, furoic acid, and maleic acid in transformer oil by reversed-phase vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography. The conditions for the proposed method were optimized, and the obtained extract can be directly analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The detection limits (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) of the method ranged from 1.0 to 4.6 µg/L, the enrichment factors for furfural, furoic acid, maleic acid, and fumaric acid were 4.6, 25.1, 15.6, and 17.5, respectively, and the recovery rates for three analytes (fumaric acid was undetected) range from 82.1 to 106.2%. The contents of furfural, furoic acid, and maleic acid resulted from accelerated aging of transformer insulation oil-paper were measured using the present method for the first time, and the aging samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry for the identification of furoic acid and maleic acid in the aging transformer oil samples. Using the optimal method, the target products of samples at different aging time were tracked and measured.

Characterization of breast masses as benign or malignant at 3.0T MRI with whole-lesion histogram analysis of the apparent diffusion coefficient.

PURPOSE: To investigate the utility of whole-lesion apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram analysis in capturing breast lesion heterogeneity and determine which ADC metric may help best differentiate benign from malignant breast mass lesions at 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively included 101 women with breast mass lesions (benign:malignant = 36:65) who underwent 3.0T diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and subsequently had histopathologic confirmation. ADC histogram parameters, including the mean, minimum, maximum, 10th/25th/50th/75th/90th percentile, skewness, kurtosis, and entropy ADCs, were derived for the whole-lesion volume in each patient. Mann-Whitney U-test, univariate and multivariate logistic regression, area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (Az ), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and Bland-Altman test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Mean, minimum, maximum, and 10th/25th/50th/75th/90th percentile ADCs were significantly lower (all P < 0.0001), while skewness and entropy ADCs were significantly higher (P < 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively) in malignant lesions compared with benign ones. The Az values of minimum and 25th percentile ADCs were significantly higher than that of mean ADC (P = 0.0194 and P = 0.0154, respectively) or that of median ADC (P = 0.0300 and P = 0.0401, respectively), indicating that minimum and 25th percentile ADCs may be more accurate for lesion discrimination. Multivariate logistic regression showed that the minimum ADC was the unique independent predictor of breast malignancy. Minimum and 25th percentile ADCs had excellent interobserver agreement (ICC = 0.943 and 0.989, respectively; narrow width of 95% limits of agreement). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that whole-lesion ADC histogram analysis may facilitate the differentiation between benign and malignant breast mass lesions.

3d-4f Metal-Organic Framework with Dual Luminescent Centers That Efficiently Discriminates the Isomer and Homologues of Small Organic Molecules.

A 3d-4f luminescent metal-organic framework (MOF), [Tb2(Cu8I8)(C12H8NO2)6(H2O)4]·5C4H8O2 (4), and three analogues {[La2(Cu8I8)(C12H8NO2)6(C4H8O2)2(H2O)2]·3C4H8O2·2H2O (1), [Ce2(Cu8I8)(C12H8NO2)6(H2O)4]·5C4H8O2 (2), and [Eu2(Cu8I8)(C12H8NO2)6(H2O)4]·5C4H8O2 (3)}, were self-assembled from copper(I) halide clusters and lanthanide metal ions with an organic linker [3-(pyridin-4-yl)benzoic acid] under solvothermal conditions. Compound 4 with high quantum yield (Φ = 68%) exhibits reversible luminescence behavior, accompanying the removal and recovery of guest molecules (1,4-dioxane). Because of the unique porous structure and dual luminescent centers of compound 4, it can efficiently differentiate benzene series with different sizes and provide readouts in corresponding optical signals. Furthermore, it also can unambiguously discriminate the isomers, homologues, and other small molecules with similar structural motifs from one another. The luminescent color of the MOF sensor in different guest solvents has obvious changes that can be clearly distinguished by the naked eye. This multicolor luminescence originates from emissions of the dual luminescent centers, and the emissions have shifted, enhanced, weakened, or quenched to different degrees.

Intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted MR imaging of breast cancer at 3.0 tesla: Comparison of different curve-fitting methods.

BACKGROUND: To compare three different curve-fitting methods for intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) analysis in breast cancer. METHODS: Diffusion-weighted imaging was acquired in 30 patients with breast cancer using seven b-values (0-800 s/mm(2) ). Three curve-fitting methods were used for biexponential IVIM analysis: a. Direct estimation of D (diffusion coefficient), D* (pseudodiffusion coefficient) and f (perfusion fraction) (Method 1), b. Estimation of D first and then D* and f (Method 2), c. Estimation of D and f first and then D* (Method 3). Goodness-of-fit, parameter precision (coefficient of variance [CV]), parameter difference and correlation with relative enhancement ratio (RER) and initial area under the curve (IAUC) from dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI of the three methods were determined and compared. RESULTS: Among the three biexponential methods, Method 1 best described most of the pixels (63.20% based on R(2) ; 44.52% based on Akaike Information Criteria). The CV of D calculated from Method 2/3 (14.95%/13.90%), the CV of D* from Method 2 (77.04%) and the CV of f from Method 3 (80.87%) were the lowest among the three methods. Significant difference was observed for each IVIM-derived parameter calculated from all the three methods (P = 0.000-0.005). Only the perfusion-related f value calculated from Method 2 was correlated with RER (r = 0.548; P = 0.002) or IAUC (r = 0.561; P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: IVIM-derived parameters differ depending on the calculation methods. The two-step fitting method with D value estimation first was correlated with DCE MRI perfusion.

Chest X-ray and CT findings of early H7N9 avian influenza cases.

BACKGROUND: The H7N9 strain of bird flu is a new type of avian flu that was identified at the end of March 2013. The disease is concerning because most patients have become severely ill. PURPOSE: To study the X-ray and computed tomography (CT) findings of early H7N9 avian influenza cases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Chest radiography and CT were performed in six patients with H7N9 avian influenza within 1-20 days after onset. The CT examinations included conventional spiral CT and high-resolution CT. The findings on the radiography and CT images were analyzed. RESULTS: Abnormal X-ray and CT findings were present in all of the patients. All of the cases had acute onset. In the early stage, the right lung was more commonly affected (particularly in the right upper and middle lobes). The lesions rapidly expanded to the entire lungs and were characterized primarily by ground-glass opacities (GGOs) combined with consolidation. Diffuse GGO was observed in all six cases (1 was symmetric, and 5 were non-symmetric). Local consolidation was found in four cases, and lobar consolidation was found in two cases. Normal lung tissue was observed between the lesions. Pleural thickening was common and was combined with pleural/pericardial effusion or mediastinal lymph node enlargement. Reticular changes, centrilobular nodules, and the tree-in-bud sign were observed in some cases, but reticular changes, bronchial wall thickening, and hyperinflation were not found. CONCLUSION: Radiological changes associated with both acute pneumonia and acute interstitial inflammation were observed in early H7N9 avian influenza cases. Serial chest X-rays were useful for the diagnosis and severity assessment of the disease. CT may provide a more accurate assessment of the lung pathology.