Radiomic signature based on CT imaging to distinguish invasive adenocarcinoma from minimally invasive adenocarcinoma in pure ground-glass nodules with pleural contact.

BACKGROUND: Pure ground-glass nodules (pGGNs) with pleural contact (P-pGGNs) comprise not only invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC), but also minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA). Radiomics recognizes complex patterns in imaging data by extracting high-throughput features of intra-tumor heterogeneity in a non-invasive manner. In this study, we sought to develop and validate a radiomics signature to identify IAC and MIA presented as P-pGGNs. METHODS: In total, 100 patients with P-pGGNs (69 training samples and 31 testing samples) were retrospectively enrolled from December 2012 to May 2018. Imaging and clinical findings were also analyzed. In total, 106 radiomics features were extracted from the 3D region of interest (ROI) using computed tomography (CT) imaging. Univariate analyses were used to identify independent risk factors for IAC. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method with 10-fold cross-validation was used to generate predictive features to build a radiomics signature. Receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curves and calibration curves were used to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the radiomics signature. Decision curve analyses (DCA) were also conducted to evaluate whether the radiomics signature was sufficiently robust for clinical practice. RESULTS: Univariate analysis showed significant differences between MIA (N = 47) and IAC (N = 53) groups in terms of patient age, lobulation signs, spiculate margins, tumor size, CT values and relative CT values (all P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis showed, when MIA was identified from IAC, that the critical value of tumor length diameter (TLD) was1.39 cm and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.724 (sensitivity = 0.792, specificity = 0.553). The critical CT value on the largest axial plane (CT-LAP) was - 597.45 HU, and the AUC was 0.666 (sensitivity = 0.698, specificity= 0.638). The radiomics signature consisted of seven features and exhibited a good discriminative performance between IAC and MIA, with an AUC of 0.892 (sensitivity = 0.811, specificity 0.719), and 0.862 (sensitivity = 0.625, specificity = 0.800) in training and testing samples, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our radiomics signature exhibited good discriminative performance in differentiating IAC from MIA in P-pGGNs, and may offer a crucial reference point for follow-up and selective surgical management.

A review of the Arcuphantes species with the genitalia of arcuatulus-type Araneae, Linyphiidae).

This is the second study addressing the Nearctic Arcuphantes species. Re-examination of Arcuphantes deposited in the American Museum of Natural History shows that four species have the genitalia of arcuatulus-type, including three new species: Arcuphantes arcuatulus (Roewer, 1942), A. cruciatus n. sp., A. denticulatus n. sp. and A. semiorbiculatus n. sp. Genital characters of arcuatulus-type are reviewed and compared with those of fragilis-type based on SEM images and microscopic pictures. Descriptions of the new species and a redescription of the known species are provided.

A review of the Nearctic linyphiid spider Arcuphantes fragilis (Araneae, Linyphiidae) and closely related species.

The Western Nearctic species Arcuphantes fragilis Chamberlin & Ivie, 1943 and several closely related species are reviewed. Seven species are recognized, including two new species: A. cavaticus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1943, A. decoratus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1943, A. fragilis Chamberlin & Ivie, 1943, A. dentatus n. sp., A. curvomarginatus n. sp., A. potteri Chamberlin & Ivie, 1943, and A. sylvaticus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1943. The female of A. decoratus is described for the first time. These seven species share a same genital type, distinguishing them from other congeners, with small differences among them. Illustrations for A. dentatus n. sp., SEM images and digital photographs for all seven species are presented. Descriptions of new species, redescriptions of known species and a key for the seven species are provided.

Plasma membrane overgrowth causes fibrotic collagen accumulation and immune activation in Drosophila adipocytes.

Many chronic diseases are associated with fibrotic deposition of Collagen and other matrix proteins. Little is known about the factors that determine preferential onset of fibrosis in particular tissues. Here we show that plasma membrane (PM) overgrowth causes pericellular Collagen accumulation in Drosophila adipocytes. We found that loss of Dynamin and other endocytic components causes pericellular trapping of outgoing Collagen IV due to dramatic cortex expansion when endocytic removal of PM is prevented. Deposits also form in the absence of negative Toll immune regulator Cactus, excess PM being caused in this case by increased secretion. Finally, we show that trimeric Collagen accumulation, downstream of Toll or endocytic defects, activates a tissue damage response. Our work indicates that traffic imbalances and PM topology may contribute to fibrosis. It also places fibrotic deposits both downstream and upstream of immune signaling, consistent with the chronic character of fibrotic diseases.