To differentiate endometrial cancer (ECa) from benign lesions in endometrial or in submucosa (BLs-ESm), and investigate whether the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of choline-containing compounds (Cho) ...obtained from three-dimensional (1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is associated with the aggressiveness of ECa.
Thirty-three patients with ECa and 15 patients with BLs-ESm underwent preoperative multivoxel (1)H MRS at 3 T MR. The amplitude of Cho peak of each voxel was recorded, and the corresponding SNR of Cho peak (ChoSNR) was calculated. The maximum ChoSNR (max ChoSNR) for each lesion was identified. The max ChoSNR of ECa and BLs-ESm, as well as type I ECa and type II ECa, was compared. The relationship between max ChoSNR and pathologic characteristics of tumors, including tumor grade, stage, type, and tumor size, was analyzed.
The mean max ChoSNR (±standard deviation SD) was 30.93 ± 16.89 for ECa and 10.40 ± 3.07 for BLs-ESm (P < .001). The mean max ChoSNR for type II ECa (48.54 ± 21.46) was higher than that for type I ECa (26.19 ± 12.02, P = .001). There were no significant differences among different grades (P = .449). The Spearman coefficient between max ChoSNR and stage was 0.423 (P = .014); the difference existed only between Ia and III ECa (P = .048). The Pearson coefficient between ChoSNR and tumor size was 0.515 (P = .002).
The max ChoSNR obtained from MRS can differentiate ECa from BLs and type I ECa and type II ECa, but cannot differentiate between each grade ECa and each International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage ECa. However, max ChoSNR increased with the increase in International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage and size of ECa.
To assess diagnostic accuracy with diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in patients with breast lesions and to evaluate the potential association between DKI-derived parameters and breast cancer ...clinical-pathologic factors.
Institutional review board approval and written informed consent were obtained. Data from 97 patients (mean age ± standard deviation, 45.7 years ± 13.1; range, 19-70 years) with 98 lesions (57 malignant and 41 benign) who were treated between January 2014 and April 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. DKI (with b values of 0-2800 sec/mm(2)) and conventional diffusion-weighted imaging data were acquired. Kurtosis and diffusion coefficients from DKI and apparent diffusion coefficients from diffusion-weighted imaging were measured by two radiologists. Student t test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Jonckheere-Terpstra test, receiver operating characteristic curves, and Spearman correlation were used for statistical analysis.
Kurtosis coefficients were significantly higher in the malignant lesions than in the benign lesions (1.05 ± 0.22 vs 0.65 ± 0.11, respectively; P < .0001). Diffusivity and apparent diffusion coefficients in the malignant lesions were significantly lower than those in the benign lesions (1.13 ± 0.27 vs 1.97 ± 0.33 and 1.02 ± 0.18 vs 1.48 ± 0.33, respectively; P < .0001). Significantly higher specificity for differentiation of malignant from benign lesions was shown with the use of kurtosis and diffusivity coefficients than with the use of apparent diffusion coefficients (83% 34 of 41 and 83% 34 of 41 vs 76% 31 of 41, respectively; P < .0001) with equal sensitivity (95% 54 of 57). In patients with invasive breast cancer, kurtosis was positively correlated with tumor histologic grade (r = 0.75) and expression of the Ki-67 protein (r = 0.55). Diffusivity was negatively correlated with tumor histologic grades (r = -0.44) and Ki-67 expression (r = -0.46).
DKI showed higher specificity than did conventional diffusion-weighted imaging for assessment of benign and malignant breast lesions. Patients with grade 3 breast cancer or tumors with high expression of Ki-67 were associated with higher kurtosis and lower diffusivity coefficients; however, this association must be confirmed in prospective studies.
•CIDF-400 had the strongest adsorption and activity inhibition capacity for PL.•CIDF could quench PL by dynamic quenching process induced by the electrostatic interactions.•Binding of CIDF to PL ...induced structural and conformational change in PL.•Potential suppression mechanism was elucidated by multiple spectroscopy.
Insoluble dietary fibre from citrus peels (CIDF) was found to have adsorption and inhibitory effect on the activity of pancreatic lipase (PL). CIDF-400 exhibited the greatest adsorption and activity inhibition effect on PL. The fluorescence quenching spectra indicated that CIDF could quench PL through a dynamic quenching process induced by the electrostatic interactions with only one binding site between them. The synchronous fluorescence and three-dimensional fluorescence spectra showed that CIDF might combine with PL to induce the increase in hydrophobicity and the reduction in polarity of tyrosine (Tyr) and tryptophan (Try) residues, which further led to the conformational alternations of PL. Moreover, circular dichroism (CD) showed that CIDF altered the secondary structure of PL, decreased α-helical structure content, and increased β-sheet structure content, potentially resulting in PL structure opening and its active site exposure. This study provides new perspectives for the application of CIDFs produced from agricultural waste in regulating lipid metabolism.
The emergence and pollution of antibiotics in surface water in various regions have drawn widespread concern because of the harm to aquatic ecosystems and human health. In this study, we aim to first ...investigate contamination and ecological risks of 39 antibiotics in Xiong'an New Area (XANA), China, and then illuminate relative abundances of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and their correlations with antibiotics. The sum of antibiotic concentrations in the water circulation system, including surface water, groundwater, and sediment was 12.71–260.56 ng/L, ND–196.12 ng/L, and 38.03–406.31 ng/g, respectively. In surface water and sediment, cephalosporins and quinolones were the primary antibiotics, accounting for 45% and 16% of the total antibiotic concentrations in surface water and for 62% and 32% of the total antibiotic concentrations in sediment; this suggests a significant interaction between the two media. The antibiotic concentration was the highest in shallow groundwater at depths of <50 m (mean concentration of 79.22 ± 56.46 ng/L), indicating that surface water was a possible source of antibiotic contamination in groundwater. AMX presented the highest risk in both surface and groundwater and should be controlled as a priority. Moreover, the selection pressure of antibiotics on ARGs was discovered in the sediment in XANA, because the enrichment of sulA was significantly correlated with spiramycin and lincomycin and the enrichment of blaOXA-1 was significantly correlated with roxithromycin, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and sulfapyridine. Thus, our investigation revealed potential antibiotic contamination in multiple environmental media in XANA, which should be addressed to prevent more serious pollution.
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•Antibiotic concentrations were detected in groundwater, surface water, and sediment.•Horizontal and vertical distribution of antibiotics was studied in multiple media.•Antibiotics in surface water are the source of contamination in groundwater.•In sediment, several antibiotics were significantly correlated with their corresponding ARGs.
To explore the imaging features of local recurrences (LRs) based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after oncological orthopaedic surgery with prosthesis reconstruction.
A total of 78 cases ...totalling 157 scans were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with nodule/mass-like signals were retrospectively classified into LR, infectious pseudotumour, and asymptomatic pseudotumour according to clinicopathological data. LRs were histologically confirmed, and the patients without recurrences were followed up for at least 2 years. Mass size distribution and radiological characteristics were analysed for differential diagnosis of the LR versus pseudotumour.
Thirty-three of 78 cases were positive with nodule/mass-like signal findings on the post-operative MRI images. By analysing the size distribution, we found that masses >2.1 cm (14) were almost attributable (98% specificity) to LRs and mostly (84.6%) timely treated. Contrarily, masses ≤2.1 cm (19) are challenging for differential diagnosis of LRs versus pseudotumour and were undertreated in five of the nine LR cases. MRI characteristics of masses ≤2.1 cm were found to be highly heterogeneous, with solid appearance, adjacent infiltration, and less peritumour oedema being significant indicators for LRs (P＜0.05). Receiver operating characteristic curve showed area under curve of 0.93 for this predictive model.
For the post-operative MRI surveillance of oncological orthopaedic surgery with prosthesis reconstruction, a mass larger than 2.1 cm was highly specific for recurrence. When a mass was smaller than 2.1 cm, more solid property, more adjacent tissue infiltration, and less muscular oedema indicated recurrence rather than a benign mass.
There has been very little data associated with the post-operative magnetic resonance imaging features indicating recurrence in patients with malignant bone sarcoma after prosthesis replacement. This study could help develop diagnostic features of magnetic resonance imaging for differentiating recurrence from benign changes in these patients after prosthesis replacement.
The degradation efficiency of bisphenol A (BPA) was investigated in the process of persulfate (PS) coupled with dithionite (DTN) as a function of concentration of BPA, PS, DTN and solution pH. A ...simple response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD) was employed to determine the influence of individual and interaction of above variables and the optimum processing parameters. It is satisfactory of a quadratic model with low probabilities (<0.0001) at a confidence level of 95% to predict the BPA degradation efficiency. The model was well fitted to the actual data and the correlation coefficients of R2 and R2-adj were 0.9270 and 0.8885, respectively. In addition, the obtained optimum conditions for BPA degradation were 1.79 μM, 131.77 μM, 93.64 μM for BPA, PS, DTN and pH = 3.62, respectively. It achieved a degradation efficiency >90% within 150 min. Moreover, the trapping experiment of active species demonstrated that SO4·- and ·OH were the dominant species and natural water matrix showed an obvious inhibition effect on BPA degradation. The BPA degradation pathway was predicted based on GC-MS results in this study.
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•PS coupled with DTN was more efficient in BPA degradation than solo PS system.•The response surface model well fitted with the actual data and R2 was 0.9270.•SO4·- and ·OH were the dominant reactive species in the PS/DTN system.•BPA degradation pathway was predicted based on the identified intermediates.
Three environmentally friendly organic acids, acetic acid, citric acid and oxalic acid, were used to treat citrus insoluble dietary fiber (CIDF) in present study, aiming to explore the changes in ...structural properties as well as their inhibitory effects on starch digestion. The results showed that organic acid treatment significantly reduced the particle size of all three CIDFs, with rougher and folded surfaces, improved crystallinity and thermal stability. During in vitro digestion, it was found that organic acid treatment could increase the particle size and viscosity of digestion, and also effectively enhance the inhibitory ability of α-glucosidase activity, resulting in a further blockage of starch digestion. The starch digestion in oxalic acid-treated group (with 3 wt% addition) was significantly reduced by 18.72 % compared to blank group and 9.05 % compared to untreated. These findings provide evidence of the potential of organic acid-treated insoluble dietary fiber as a functional food.
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•The particle size and structure of CIDF were changed after organic acid treatment.•Organic acid treatment enhanced the ability of CIDF to inhibit starch digestion.•Oxalic acid treated group showed the lowest starch digestion and digestion rate (3 wt% addition).•CIDFs can change the structure of α-glucosidase, result in decreased activity.
In China, antibiotics are commonly used for human and veterinary medicine, and they are present in various environmental media. Thus, the toxic effects of antibiotics on organisms have attracted the ...attention of society and scientists alike. In this study, zebrafish embryos were used to test the single and joint toxicity of four antibiotics, sulfamonomethoxine (SMM), cefotaxime sodium (CFT), tetracycline (TC), enrofloxacin (ENR), and their combinations, combining the results of experimental and omics techniques. Following exposure to antibiotics for 120 h, the body lengths of zebrafish larvae in all 100 μg/L antibiotic groups were significantly shortened, and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) content in the 100 μg/L Mix group was significantly increased. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) showed that the mRNA level of numerous genes was significantly changed in the five antibiotic treatment groups. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis of the differentially expressed genes revealed a significant enrichment of the steroid biosynthesis and other metabolism pathways. Hub gene analysis highlighted dhcr24, acat1, aldh1a2, aldh8a1, suclg2, hadh, and hsdl2 as the key genes, and hub gene expression changes because of the antibiotic treatment suggested that the metabolic system of the zebrafish larvae was severely disrupted by the interaction with other genes. In conclusion, single or joint exposure to different antibiotics at environmental concentrations affected the early development and metabolic system of zebrafish larvae, and our results provide fundamental evidence for future studies of antibiotic toxicity in aquatic organisms.
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•The antibiotics SMM, CFT, TC, ENR, and their mixtures changed the mRNA transcription profiles in exposed zebrafish larvae.•The joint antibiotic toxicity was more severe than that of a single treatment.•The metabolic process of zebrafish larvae was disrupted by antibiotic treatments.•The hub genes in the metabolic disruption process were dhcr24, acat1, aldh1a2, aldh8a1, suclg2, hadh, and hsdl2.
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•Persulfate and dithionite act synergistically for ATZ degradation.•Various reactive species (SO2−, SO3−, SO4−, OH, etc) are involved in the PS/DTN system.•ATZ degradation pathway has ...been proposed based on the identified intermediates.
Efficient and environmentally friendly activation methods of persulfate (PS) have gained growing attention in the remediation of water or soil polluted by organic contaminants. Among all, the exploration of effective and applicable method for the PS activation becomes one of the hottest topics in the field of organic degradation. Dithionite (DTN) was employed in this study to activate PS and applied to degrade Atrazine (ATZ) without secondary pollution. ATZ could be completely degraded within 90 min by PS/DTN system. ATZ degradation by PS obeyed the pseudo-first-order kinetics and the rate constant values increased from (4.71–5.05) × 10−3 min−1 to (4.59–5.09) × 10−2 min−1 with the addition of DTN. Sulfate radicals were verified to be the dominant reactive species through the radical scavenging experiment. PS/DTN system can remain a strong oxidative ability in the range of pH below 9.0. The presence of Cl−, natural organic matter (NOM), and high concentration of HCO3− may inhibit the removal of ATZ while the low concentration of HCO3− can slightly promote the degradation. It was found that the degradation pathways of ATZ by PS/DTN involved de-chlorination and hydroxylation, de-alkylation, and de-amination by the reactive species. The study reveals that PS/DTN system has the broad application prospect in the treatment of refractory pollutants.
•This study firstly explored T2* values of uterine zone structures in menstrual cycle.•T2* values can be helpful for evaluating dysmenorrhea and oxygenation of endometrium.•T2* values can be useful ...in monitoring hypoxia in gynecological diseases.
To evaluate dynamic changes of T2* values within the endometrium, junctional zone and myometrium during the menstrual cycle using blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging.
Volunteers underwent MRI scans on menstrual phase, ovulatory phase and luteal phase, including T2-weighted imaging and BOLD MR imaging. Multi-gradient-recalled echo (MGRE) sequence was used to obtain BOLD MR images. T2* values of different uterine layers, including endometrium, junctional zone and myometrium, on sagittal images were analyzed quantitatively.
Twenty-four subjects calculated T2* values successfully. The T2* values of each zonal structure during menstruation were significantly lower than those during ovulatory phase (P < 0.05) and luteal phase (P < 0.001). The T2* value of junctional zone was significantly lower than that of the myometrium over all three menstrual phases (P = 0.000, menstrual; P = 0.000, ovulatory; P = 0.001, luteal). The mean T2* value in endometrium during the ovulatory phase was the highest of the uterine zones over menstrual cycle. During menstrual phase, there was no statistical difference between endometrium and junctional zone (P > 0.05). Conversely, the comparison of the T2* values between endometrium and myometrium, junctional zone and myometrium both showed significant difference (P = 0.000). The mean T2* values within endometrium during ovulatory phase and luteal phase were significantly higher than those within junctional zone and myometrium (P < 0.05).
Cyclic changes of T2* values in each zonal structure of the uterus were revealed during the menstrual cycle by means of BOLD technique, which may be potentially beneficial in investigating dysmenorrhea, guiding assisted reproductive technologies and monitoring hypoxia in gynecological tumors.
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