Differential diagnosis of Crohn's disease and intestinal tuberculosis based on ATR-FTIR spectroscopy combined with machine learning.

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease (CD) is often misdiagnosed as intestinal tuberculosis (ITB). However, the treatment and prognosis of these two diseases are dramatically different. Therefore, it is important to develop a method to identify CD and ITB with high accuracy, specificity, and speed. AIM: To develop a method to identify CD and ITB with high accuracy, specificity, and speed. METHODS: A total of 72 paraffin wax-embedded tissue sections were pathologically and clinically diagnosed as CD or ITB. Paraffin wax-embedded tissue sections were attached to a metal coating and measured using attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared spectroscopy at mid-infrared wavelengths combined with XGBoost for differential diagnosis. RESULTS: The results showed that the paraffin wax-embedded specimens of CD and ITB were significantly different in their spectral signals at 1074 cm-1 and 1234 cm-1 bands, and the differential diagnosis model based on spectral characteristics combined with machine learning showed accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of 91.84%, 92.59%, and 90.90%, respectively, for the differential diagnosis of CD and ITB. CONCLUSION: Information on the mid-infrared region can reveal the different histological components of CD and ITB at the molecular level, and spectral analysis combined with machine learning to establish a diagnostic model is expected to become a new method for the differential diagnosis of CD and ITB.

Identification of mercury species in coal combustion by-products from power plants using thermal desorption-atomic fluorescence spectrometry on-line coupling system.

Along with the environmental protection policies becoming strict in China, the air pollution control devices (especially selective catalytic reduction (SCR)) are widely equipped in coal-fired power plants. The installation and run of these devices will inevitably affect mercury (Hg) species distribution in coal fired by-products such like fly ash (FA) and gypsum. In this work, a new on-line coupling system based on atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS) with a home-made chromatographic workstation was successfully developed to identify Hg species through thermal programmed desorption (TPD). The influences of matrix, furnace temperature, and carrier gas flow on analytical performance were investigated and the parameters were optimized. The FA and gypsum samples from coal-fired power plants equipped with SCR were collected and the mercury species were analyzed by the developed coupling system. HgCl2 and HgO were the main species in FA, while Hg2Cl2 and HgO were the main species in gypsum. All of Hg species in the studied FA and gypsum samples were released below 400 °C. A sequential extraction procedure was applied to further verify the operational Hg species including mobile and non-mobile fractions in FA and gypsum samples. This study demonstrated that AFS coupled with TPD procedure was an effective method to analyze Hg species in coal combustion by-products from power plants.

[Bioavailability Characteristics of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter in Lake Gaoyou, Lake Nansi, and Lake Dongping Under Different Hydrological Scenarios].

The bio-lability of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) directly reflects its biodegradability potential, and also affects the migration and conversion of pollutants and impacts water quality. This study combines excitation-emission matrices and parallel factor analysis (EEMs-PARAFAC) with laboratory 28 days of bio-incubation experiments, and analyzed the bioavailability characteristics of CDOM samples collected from Lake Gaoyou, Lake Nansi and Lake Dongping in flood season and dry season. Our results showed that:① four fluorescent components were obtained using EEMs-PARAFAC, including a microbial humic-like C1, a terrestrial humic-like C4, a tryptophan-like C2, and a tyrosine-like C3. ② The differences of CDOM absorption pre-and post-incubation, i.e. Δa(254) of the three lakes were positive in the three lakes in the flood season, while partially negative in the dry season, indicating a quite different response of CDOM bioavailability to hydrological seasons. ③ Under different hydrological scenarios, the two humic-like components C1 and C4 increased post-bio-incubation compared with that pre-incubation for the samples collected from Lake Nansi and Lake Dongping, and the two protein-like components in Lake Nansi in both the flood and dry seasons and in Lake Dongping in the flood season (t-test, P<0.001, P=0.005) were lower in the post-than those pre-incubation. In Lake Gaoyou, C1-C3 post-incubation were significantly lower than pre-incubation (t-test, P=0.008, P=0.005). In the dry season, in comparison, C1-C4 except for C2 increased post-incubation than pre-incubation for Lake Gaoyou. This indicated that the protein-like components are unstable and more easily uptaken by microorganisms and may be potentially converted into more stable humic-like components. HIX and IC:IT of the three lakes increased post-incubation while the spectral slope S275-295 decreased, which further confirmed the aforementioned conclusion. ④ During both the flood and dry seasons, the bioavailability of the protein-like components C2-C3 and the fluorescence intensity of C1 and C4 in the inflowing river mouths of the three lakes were higher than in the remaining lake regions. It is therefore necessary to strengthen the water quality management in the inflowing river mouths of the three lakes to maintain the water quality of the lakes.

[Response of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter Dynamics to Different Hydrological Scenarios in the Two Largest Freshwater Lakes Connected to the Yangtze River].

Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake are the two largest freshwater lakes in China connected to the Yangtze River. Changes in the water quality of the two lakes are critical to the water security of the residents surrounding the lakes. Analyses of the optical properties, including chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy coupled by parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC), were carried out to investigate the dynamics of CDOM in the two lakes in different hydrological scenarios. Our results indicated that different hydrological scenarios have more notable effects on the CDOM dynamics in Poyang Lake compared to those in Dongting Lake. In Poyang Lake, the mean CDOM absorption a(254) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were higher in the wet season than in the dry-to-wet transition season, and higher still than in the dry season (t-test, P<0.01), and the mean of the CDOM absorption spectral slope S275-295 was higher in the dry season than in the dry-to-wet transition season and higher still than in the wet season (t-test, P<0.01). In Dongting Lake, the mean of a(254) was not significantly different between different hydrological periods, and SUVA254 reached its maximum in the dry-to-wet transition season. Four fluorescent components were identified using parallel factor analysis. The contribution percentage of CDOM protein-like components in the two lakes was higher during the dry season, and the protein-like components and humic-like components contributed roughly the same amount in the dry-to-wet season, whereas the humic-like components accounted for the main proportion in both lakes during the wet season. From the perspective of spatial distribution, the fluorescence intensity of the four components of Poyang Lake was lower in the southern upstream than in the northern downstream lake regions during the dry season, whereas in the wet season a contrast pattern was found, i.e., with high values found in the upstream lake regions. The spatial difference of fluorescence intensity of the four components in the east of Dongting Lake during the dry season was greater than that in the wet season. We found that DOC increased with increasing water level (r2=0.99, P<0.01) in Poyang Lake and tryptophan-like C2 decreased with increasing water level (r2=0.99, P<0.05) in Dongting Lake. Therefore, the water quality of the two lakes should be managed in a targeted manner according to the response characteristics of CDOM in the two lakes under different hydrological scenarios.

[Characterizing Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter in Key Lakes in the Middle Reaches of the East Route of the South-North Water Diversion Project].

Lake Hongze and Lake Luoma are two key lakes located in the middle reaches of the east line of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. We attempted to unravel the sources and optical composition of CDOM for samples collected from these lakes using excitation-emission matrices (EEMs) and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). ① Three fluorescent components were obtained using PARAFAC, including a terrestrial humic-like C1, a tryptophan-like C2, and a tyrosine-like C3. The sources and optical composition of CDOM in the two lakes were, to a large extent, affected by upstream inflow. ② Specifically, fluorescence intensity (Fmax) of the three components C1-C3 in the inflowing river mouths of the two lakes was notably higher than in the other lake regions, and Fmax of the three components during the flood season was significantly higher than during the dry season (t-test, P<0.01). During the flood season, the fluorescence intensity of the terrestrial humic-like component was the highest. This indicates that the source and composition of CDOM in the two lakes are greatly affected by the inflow from the upstream water system, and that the hydrological processes control the abundance and sources of CDOM, especially the terrestrial humic-like C1.③ Significant positive relationships were found between the terrestrial humic-like C1 and the DOC concentrations and CDOM absorption a(254) (r2=0.60, P<0.01; r2=0.88, P<0.01), and the correlation was higher than the other two components. This indicated that the terrestrial humic-like component was the main source of CDOM. In addition, the terrestrial humic-like C1 had a significant positive correlation with SUVA, S275-295, and the integration ratio of the fluorescence peak C to peak T (IC:IT) (r2=0.49, P<0.01; r2=0.61, P<0.01; r2=0.93, P<0.01). It is further revealed that the source and composition of CDOM in the two lakes are greatly affected by land sources. This study reveals the response of CDOM source and composition in Lake Hongze and Lake Luoma to different hydrological scenarios and water transfer processes. Based on these results, the water quality management of the rivers entering the lake should be strengthened during the flood season.

[Fluorescent Characteristics and Environmental Significance of Particulate Organic Matter in Lake Taihu, China].

Thirty-two samples were collected from eight typical areas in Lake Taihu. Three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectra (EEMs) and a parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) were applied to investigate the fluorescence properties, the sources, and environmental significance of particulate organic matter (POM) from the overlying water in Lake Taihu in summer. Differences in fluorescence characteristics between POM and DOM (dissolved organic matter), and that in POM between the grass lake and the algal lake were further examined. There are five kinds of fluorophores in Lake Taihu:tyrosine-like fluorophores (C1 and C2), humic-like fluorophores (C3 and C4), and tryptophan-like fluorophores (C5), among which significant correlations were found between C1 and C2, C3 and C4, and C5 and two humic-like fluorophores (C4, C3). By comparing with the fluorescence characteristics of DOM from earlier studies, it is found that there are differences in compositions, sources, and correlations with water quality between POM and DOM in Lake Taihu in summer. In summer, the contribution of endogenous inputs to POM is greater than that of exogenous inputs in Lake Taihu because the ranges in the fluorescence indices, FI, BIX, and HIX, are 1.78-2.35, 0.3-2.7, and 0.8-1.1, respectively. Significant correlations have been found between humic-like fluorescent components and TN, TP, Chla, COD, POC, and SS, suggesting that fluorescence analysis can be used as an important method for a semi-quantitative analysis of nutrients. The protein-like components of the algal lake mainly consist of tryptophan and tyrosine, while that of the grass lake mainly contain tyrosine and a few tryptophan. It is worth noting that, the grass lake contains more tyrosine relative to the algal lake (t test, P < 0.01). Significant positive correlations between the protein-like and the humic-like fluorescence are found in the algal lake, while it is not significant in the grass lake. Significant positive correlations are found between the fluorescent components (protein-like and humic-like) and chlorophyll-a in the algal lake, while the correlation was only found between humic-like components and chlorophyll-a in the grass lake.

[Quantitative Analysis of Deep-Frying Oil Adulterated Virgin Olive Oil Using Vis-NIR Spectroscopy with iPLS].

To explore a rapid and reliable method for quantitative analysis of deep-frying oil adulterated virgin olive oil, visible and near infrared(Vis-NIR) spectroscopy and three improved partial least squares methods, including interval Partial Least Squares (iPLS), synergy interval partial least squares (SiPLS) and backward interval partial least squares (BiPLS) were employed to establish predicting models of doping content based on virgin olive oil adulterating different levels and different types of deep-frying oil. And the models were compared in order to choose the best one. The Vis-NIR spectroscopy ranged from 400 to 2 500 nm was obtained directly from the adulterated samples, and the spectroscopic data was preprocessed with Savitzky-Golay (SG). Then, the samples were divided into calibration set and test set by Sample Set Partitioning based on Joint X-Y Distance (SPXY) after rejecting the odd samples. At last, the predicting models of doping content were built by using different interval partial least squares methods. The results showed that the optimal model for predicting the doping content of deep-frying soybean oil in virgin olive oil was obtained with SiPLS method that separated the whole spectra into 20 intervals and combined the fourth and the sixteenth intervals. The SiPLS model had correlation coefficient (r) of 0.998 9 and root mean standard error of prediction (RMSEP) of 0.019 2. In addition, for deep-frying peanut oil adulterated virgin olive oil, the SiPLS and BiPLS models with interval 2 and interval 16 which the whole spectra was separated into 20 intervals, had same results. The RMSEP was 0.012 0, lower than iPLS model. Moreover, compared to SiPLS method, BiPLS method saved computation and was more efficient. Overall, through selecting the effective wavelength range, SiPLS method and BiPLS method could accurately predict the doping content of deep-frying oil in virgin olive oil based on its' Vis-NIR spectroscopy. In addition, this fast and nondestructive experiment doesn't need sample pretreatment with advantages of no environment pollution, easy operation.

[Rapid Identification of Cistanche via Fluorescence Spectrum Imaging Technology Combined with Principal Components Analysis and Fisher Distinction].

In order to explore rapid reliable Hebra cistanche detection methods, identification of 3 different sources of Hebra cistanche: cistanche deserticola, cistanche tubulosa, sand rossia is studied via fluorescent spectral imaging technology combined with pattern recognition. It is found in experiment that cistanche samples have obvious fluorescence properties. Forty fluorescence spectral images of 3 different sources of Hebra cistanche samples are collected through fluorescent spectral imaging system. After carrying on denoising and binarization processing to these images, the spectral curves of each sample was drawn according to the spectral cube. The obtained spectra data in the 450 - 680 nm wavelength range is regarded as the study object of discriminant analysis. Then, principal component analysis (PCA) is applied to reduce the dimension of spectroscopic data of the three kinds of cistanche and fisher distinction is used in combination to classify them; During the experiment were compared the effects of three methods of data preprocessing on the model: multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), standard normal variable correction (SNV) and first-order differential (FD) and then according to the cumulative contribution rate of the principal component and the effect of number of factors on the discriminant model to optimize the number of principal components factor. The results showed that. identification of the best after the first derivative pretreatment then the first four principal components is extracted to carry on fisher discriminant, discriminant model of 3 different sources of Hebra cistanche is set up through PCA combined with fisher discriminant the precision of original discrimination is 100%, recognition rate of the cross validation is 95%. It was thus shown that the fluorescent spectral imaging technology combined with principal components analysis and fisher distinction can be used for the identification study of 3 different sources of Hebra cistanche and has the advantages of easy operation, speediness, reliability.

Effect of transplanted mesenchymal stem cells from rats of different ages on the improvement of heart function after acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation is of therapeutic potential after ischemic injury in both experimental and clinical studies. Clinically, elderly patients are more vulnerable to acute myocardial infarction (AMI). But little is known about the characteristics of young donor-derived MSCs transplanted to old patients with AMI. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of transplanted MSCs from rats of different ages on the improvement of heart function after AMI. METHODS: MSCs from Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were isolated and cultured in vitro. The apoptosis characteristics of MSCs were observed under conditions of ischemia and anoxia. SD rats underwent MI received intramyocardial injection of MSCs from young donor rats (n = 8), old donor rats (n = 8), respectively. AMI control group received equal volume physiological saline. Immunofluorescence was used to observe the differentiation of the grafted cells into cardiomyocytes. Four weeks after cell transplantation, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VIII-factor immunohistochemistry for vessel density, TUNEL, caspase-3 for cardiomyocyte apoptosis, echocardiography and hemodynamic detection for heart function were performed. RESULTS: The apoptosis rate of the old donor-derived MSCs group was significantly higher than that of the young donor-derived MSCs group under conditions of ischemia and anoxia (P < 0.05). Engrafted MSCs survived, proliferated and differentiated into myocardium-like cells. VEGF gene expression and capillary density in the old donor-derived group were lower than those in the young donor-derived group but higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The transplantation of old donor-derived MSCs attenuated apoptosis of cardiomyocytes in the peri-infarct region compared with the control group and the effect was elevated in young donor-derived MSCs (P < 0.05). The heart functions (left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricle fractional shortening (LVFS)) were improved more significantly in the old donor-derived MSCs group than in the control group and the heart function in the young donor-derived MSCs group further improved (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Young donor-derived MSCs can improve heart function significantly through angiogenesis and decreasing cardiomyocyte apoptosis when transplanted to the infarcted area.