Morphologic classification of the right auricule on 256-slice computed tomography.

PURPOSE: To investigate the shape of right auricule on 256-slice computed tomography (CT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five hundred people (250 men, age range 16-84 years) who had cardiac multidetector CT angiography were recruited in this study. All patients had normal sinus rhythm with normal blood pressure (<140/90 mmHg for systolic/diastolic pressure). The morphology of the right auricule was studied and compared after reconstruction of the raw images. RESULTS: All patients successfully had cardiac CT angiography (100%), and the right auricule morphology was divided into five types and nine subtypes, including Type I of triangular shape (Ia and Ib), Type II of M shape (IIa and IIb), Type III of L shape (IIIa and IIIb), Type IV of reverse L shape (IVa and IVb), and Type V of balanced shape. The most common type of right auricule is Type IV (28.4%) followed by Type II (24.0%), whereas the least common is Type V (11.0%). Type Ia was present significantly (P < 0.0001) more frequently in females than in males, whereas Type IIa significantly (P = 0.042) more frequently in males than females. No other significant (P > 0.05) sex difference existed in the constitution ratio of the types. The normal angle was greater in Type Ib than in Ia. The greater the normal angle in Type I, the greater the deviation of the right auricule tip towards the left. CONCLUSION: A good understanding of the right auricule anatomical morphology can better guide atrial pacing, radiofrequency ablation and other surgical procedures while preventing possible intra-procedural complications.

[Preparation and purification of polyclonal antibody against Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry protein 2 (ROP2) and its application in immunofluorescence localization].

OBJECTIVE: To prepare and purify polyclonal antibody against Toxoplasma gondii rhoptry protein 2 (ROP2) and apply it to immunofluorescence localization. METHODS: The constructed recombinant plasmid pET32a-ROP2 was transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) and the protein was expressed under the condition of 0.5 mmol/L IPTG induction. Cells were lysed by multiple rounds of sonication to obtain supernatant and inclusion body, respectively. The washed inclusion bodies were dissolved in urea. New Zealand White rabbits were immunized with 200 microg purified recombinant ROP2 mixing with the same volume of Freund's adjuvant for 3 times at interval of 14 days and 19 days, respectively. Rabbit serum was collected at 10 days after the last immunization. Polyclonal antibody in rabbit serum was purified with HiTrap Protein G HP affinity purification column. Indirect ELISA and Western blotting were used to detect antibody titer and specificity of polyclonal antibody against the recombinant ROP2. The polyclonal antibody was used to the localization of ROP2 on the parasitophorous vacuole membrane in human foreskin fibroblasts infected by Toxoplasma tachyzoites by the immunofluorescence method. RESULTS: The recombinant ROP2 protein was obtained and specific rabbit-derived polyclonal antibody was prepared. Indirect ELISA confirmed that the rabbit-derived polyclonal antibody titer reached 1:102400, and the recombinant ROP2 protein was recognized by specific polyclonal antibody. Immunofluorescence localization test showed that the ROP2 protein was located on the parasitophorous vacuole membrane. CONCLUSION: The rabbit-derived polyclonal antibody against ROP2 is prepared, and used in immunofluorescence localization of ROP2 on parasitophorous vacuole membrane.

Spatiotemporal Analysis of the Malaria Epidemic in Mainland China, 2004-2014.

The purpose of this study is to characterize spatiotemporal heterogeneities in malaria distribution at a provincial level and investigate the association between malaria incidence and climate factors from 2004 to 2014 in China to inform current malaria control efforts. National malaria incidence peaked (4.6/100,000) in 2006 and decreased to a very low level (0.21/100,000) in 2014, and the proportion of imported cases increased from 16.2% in 2004 to 98.2% in 2014. Statistical analyses of global and local spatial autocorrelations and purely spatial scan statistics revealed that malaria was localized in Hainan, Anhui, and Yunnan during 2004-2009 and then gradually shifted and clustered in Yunnan after 2010. Purely temporal clusters shortened to less than 5 months during 2012-2014. The two most likely clusters detected using spatiotemporal analysis occurred in Anhui between July 2005 and November 2007 and Yunnan between January 2010 and June 2012. Correlation coefficients for the association between malaria incidence and climate factors sharply decreased after 2010, and there were zero-month lag effects for climate factors during 2010-2014. Overall, the spatiotemporal distribution of malaria in China changed from relatively scattered (2004-2009) to relatively clustered (2010-2014). As the proportion of imported cases increased, the effect of climate factors on malaria incidence has gradually become weaker since 2011. Therefore, new warning systems should be applied to monitor resurgence and outbreaks of malaria in mainland China, and quarantine at borders should be reinforced to control the increasingly trend of imported malaria cases.

Test performance of sputum microRNAs for lung cancer: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Early detection and precise diagnosis are critical for the patients with lung cancer. Increasing evidence has suggested that microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in the diagnosis of lung cancer. To evaluate the overall diagnostic performance of sputum miRNAs for the detection of lung cancer, a meta-analysis was performed. METHODS: A systematic search for published literature evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of sputum miRNAs in lung cancer was performed to determine pooled sensitivity and specificity. A summary receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed to assess the overall test performance. Subgroup analysis was utilized to explore potential sources of heterogeneity in the included studies. RESULTS: Eight studies with a total of 514 patients and 491 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Sputum miRNAs had a pooled sensitivity of 0.70 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.66-0.70) and a pooled specificity of 0.89 (95% CI: 0.86-0.91) for the detection of lung cancer, with an area under the summary receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.83. Significant interstudy heterogeneity for specificity was observed, with miRNA profiles being a possible source. CONCLUSION: Sputum miRNAs are potentially useful noninvasive markers for diagnosis of lung cancer. The diagnostic specificity of sputum miRNAs may be influenced by the miRNA profiles. It would be important for further work to evaluate the generalizability of our results by methodologically rigorous studies on a well-defined patient population.