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Background Safely implementing transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) requires accurate navigation. Traditional fuoroscopy falls short in reducing the risk of post-procedure pneumothorax. The potential of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) as a more precise navigation method warrants further exploration. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted on ILD patients undergoing TBLC. Patients were assigned either fuoroscopy or ENB for cryoprobe positioning. Navigation accuracy was evaluated using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images as the standard. Safety and diagnostic yield were also observed. Results Seventeen patients underwent TBLC, with 10 guided by fuoroscopy and seven by ENB. Fluoroscopy-guided cryoprobe navigation required more adjustments [9/15 (60%) v.s. 1/9 (11%), p=0.018] for subsequent TBLC compared to ENB, as confrmed by CBCT images. Clinical characteristics, post-procedure complications, and biopsy specimen size showed no signifcant diferences between the groups. Fourteen patients obtained a pathological diagnosis, and 15 received a multidisciplinary discussion (MDD) diagnosis. In the fuoroscopy group, three patients failed to obtain a pathological diagnosis, and two failed to obtain an MDD diagnosis. Conclusions ENB demonstrates signifcantly superior accuracy in TBLC navigation compared to traditional fuoroscopy when CBCT images are used as a reference. Further studies are necessary to determine the value of ENB in TBLC navigation for ILD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal disease characterized by fibroblastic foci and progressive scarring of the pulmonary parenchyma. IPF fibroblasts display increased proliferation and enhanced migration and invasion, analogous to cancer cells. This transformation-like phenotype of fibroblasts plays an important role in the development of pulmonary fibrosis, but the mechanism for this is not well understood.Methods: In this study, we compared gene expression profiles in fibrotic lung tissues from IPF patients and normal lung tissues from patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax using a cDNA microarray to examine the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of IPF. In a cDNA microarray, we found that USP13 was decreased in lung tissues from patients with IPF, which was further confirmed by results from immunohistochemistry and western blot assays. Then, we used RNA interference in MRC-5 cells to inhibit USP13 and evaluated its effects by western blot, real-time RT-PCR, bromodeoxyuridine incorporation, and transwell assays. We also used co-immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence staining to identify the correlation between USP13 and PTEN in IPF.Results: USP13 expression levels were markedly reduced in fibroblastic foci and primary IPF fibroblast lines. The depletion of USP13 resulted in the transformation of fibroblasts into an aggressive phenotype with enhanced proliferative, migratory, and invasive capacities. Additionally, USP13 interacted with PTEN and mediated PTEN ubiquitination and degradation in lung fibroblasts.Conclusions: Down-regulation of USP13 mediates PTEN protein loss and fibroblast phenotypic change, and thereby plays a crucial role in IPF pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Effective environmental data management is meaningful for human health. In the past, environmental data management involved developing a specific environmental data management system, but this method often lacks real-time data retrieving and sharing/interoperating capability. With the development of information technology, a Geospatial Service Web method is proposed that can be employed for environmental data management. The purpose of this study is to determine a method to realize environmental data management under the Geospatial Service Web framework. Methods A real-time GIS (Geographic Information System) data model and a Sensor Web service platform to realize environmental data management under the Geospatial Service Web framework are proposed in this study. The real-time GIS data model manages real-time data. The Sensor Web service platform is applied to support the realization of the real-time GIS data model based on the Sensor Web technologies. Results To support the realization of the proposed real-time GIS data model, a Sensor Web service platform is implemented. Real-time environmental data, such as meteorological data, air quality data, soil moisture data, soil temperature data, and landslide data, are managed in the Sensor Web service platform. In addition, two use cases of real-time air quality monitoring and real-time soil moisture monitoring based on the real-time GIS data model in the SensorWeb service platform are realized and demonstrated. The total time efficiency of the two experiments is 3.7 s and 9.2 s. Conclusions The experimental results show that the method integrating real-time GIS data model and Sensor Web Service Platform is an effective way to manage environmental data under the Geospatial Service Web framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As a member of the TNF superfamily, TRAIL could induce human tumor cell apoptosis through its cognate death receptors DR4 or DR5, which can induce formation of the death inducing signaling complex (DISC) and activation of the membrane proximal caspases (caspase-8 or caspase-10) and mitochondrial pathway. Some monoclonal antibodies against DR4 or DR5 have been reported to have anti-tumor activity. Results: In this study, we reported a novel mouse anti-human DR5 monoclonal antibody, named as LaDR5, which could compete with TRAIL to bind DR5 and induce the apoptosis of Jurkat cells in the absence of second crosslinking in vitro. Using computer-guided molecular modeling method, the 3-D structure of LaDR5 Fv fragment was constructed. According to the crystal structure of DR5, the 3-D complex structure of DR5 and LaDR5 was modeled using molecular docking method. Based on distance geometry method and intermolecular hydrogen bonding analysis, the key functional domain in DR5 was predicted and the DR5 mutants were designed. And then, three mutants of DR5 was expressed in prokaryotic system and purified by affinity chromatograph to determine the epitope of DR5 identified by LaDR5, which was consistent with the theoretical results of computer-aided analysis. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated the specific epitope located in DR5 that plays a crucial role in antibody binding and even antineoplastic bioactivity. Meanwhile, revealed structural features of DR5 may be important to design or screen novel drugs agonist DR5 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]