Search

To resolve the problems of position and angle change causing miss and false detection, low accuracy of difficult samples in X-ray luggage images, using YOLOv5 as the baseline, this paper proposes a model by inverted bottleneck and light convolution block attention module for the X-ray prohibited items detection. The inverted bottle-neck design is introduced in the backbone to emphasize the detailed features and improve the model to cope with the large-angle change problem. The light convolution block attention module is used to suppress background interference and reduce model parameter. The Gaussian error linear unit activation function and improved loss function are used to enhance the nonlinear expression ability, increasing the punishment of predicted value to optimize the model??s detection ability for difficult samples. The proposed model is trained and tested on three large public datasets OPIXray, SIXray, and HiXray, resulting in the mAP of 91.9%, 93.4%, and 82.2%, respectively. The results show that the proposed method can effectively solve the problem of angel change in X-ray luggage, indicating its high accuracy and robustness.

Spot determinations of the urine creatinine concentration are widely used as a substitute for 24-h urine collections. Expressed as the amount excreted per gram of creatinine, urine concentrations in a single-voided sample are often used to estimate 24-h excretion rates of protein, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, urea and uric acid. These estimates are predicated on the assumption that daily creatinine excretion equals 1 g (and that a urine creatinine concentration of 100 mg/dL reflects a 1 L 24-h urine volume). Such estimates are invalid if the serum creatinine concentration is rising or falling. In addition, because creatinine excretion is determined by muscle mass, the assumption that 24-h urine creatinine excretion equals 1 g yields a misleading estimate at the extremes of age and body size. In this review, we evaluate seven equations for the accuracy of their estimates of urine volume based on urine creatinine concentrations in actual and idealized patients. None of the equations works well in patients who are morbidly obese or in patients with markedly decreased muscle mass. In other patients, estimates based on a reformulation of the Cockroft–Gault equation are reasonably accurate. A recent study based on this relationship found a high strength of correlation between estimated and measured urine output with chronic kidney disease (CKD) studied in the African American Study of Kidney Disease (AASK) trial and for the patients studied in the CKD Optimal Management with Binders and NictomidE (COMBINE) trial. However, the equation systematically underestimated urine output in the AASK trial. Hence, an intercept was added to account for the bias in the estimated output. A more rigorous equation derived from an ambulatory Swiss population, which includes body mass index and models the non-linear accelerated decline in creatinine excretion with age, could potentially be more accurate in overweight and elderly patients. In addition to extremes of body weight and muscle mass, decreased dietary intake or reduced hepatic synthesis of creatine, a precursor of creatinine or ingestion of creatine supplements will also result in inaccurate estimates. These limitations must be appreciated to rationally use predictive equations to estimate urine volume. If the baseline urine creatinine concentration is determined in a sample of known volume, subsequent urine creatinine concentrations will reveal actual urine output as well as the change in urine output. Given the constraints of the various estimating equations, a single baseline timed collection may be a more useful strategy for monitoring urine volume than entering anthropomorphic data into a calculator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytokine therapies show promise in treating renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1) is a cytokine whose downstream Smad2/3 signaling activity is inhibited by the protein phosphatase Mg2+/Mn2+-dependent 1 A (PPM1A). Here, we hypothesized that PPM1A may be involved in suppressing RCC cell aggressiveness through its negative regulation of Smad2/3. We quantified PPM1A expression from RCC tumors and matching healthy tissue and performed a Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. In silico analysis on PPM1A was performed using Cancer Genome Atlas-Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma and Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium RCC cohort data. We tested four RCC cell lines and selected the ACNH and A498 cells lines as expressing the greatest PPM1A levels. We assayed the effects of RNAi-mediated PPM1A silencing on invasiveness, proliferation, colony formation, and Smad2/3 phosphorylation in untreated and TGF-β1-stimulated ACNH and A498 cells. A nude mouse A498 xenograft tumor model was constructed to validate PPM1A's effects in vivo. PPM1A levels are reduced in RCC tumors and are negatively correlated with RCC grade and stage. Below-median PPM1A expression is associated with reduced overall survival in RCC patients. PPM1A silencing promoted cellular invasiveness, proliferation, colony formation, and Smad2/3 phosphorylation under TGF-β1-stimulated conditions but not under untreated conditions. These effects of PPM1A were shown to be dependent on Smad2/3. Intratumor PPM1A overexpression inhibited A498 xenograft tumor growth. This study establishes a direct link between PPM1A's suppression of Smad2/3 signaling and RCC cell aggressiveness. PPM1A could potentially serve as a biomarker for RCC cell aggressiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of V-5 immunitor (V5) added to chemotherapy of tuberculosis (TB) patients., Methods: The databases Medline, Embase, Biosis, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, SCI, CBM, VIP and CNKI were searched. Randomized controlled trials (RCT) and controlled clinical trials (CCT) of V5 immunitor with or without a placebo-control as adjuvant therapy in the chemotherapy of TB patients were included. Two reviewers independently performed data extraction and quality assessment. Data were analyzed using RevMan 5.3 software by The Cochrane Collaboration., Results: Four studies were included. At the end of the follow-up period, pooled RR (Risk Ratio) and its 95% CI of sputum smear conversion rate were 4.91 (3.32, 7.28) in drug-sensitive, drug-resistant TB patients or HIV-TB co-infection patients. When analyzing inflammation biomarkers including ESR and leukocyte accounts, pooled mean difference and its 95% CI of ESR and leukocyte accounts were -7.62 (-9.55, -5.68) and -2.13 (-2.58, -1.68), respectively. As to body weight, pooled mean difference and its 95% CI were 0.96 (-1.13, 3.05) in TB patients. Two clinical trials were included for analyzing temperature after using V5 immunitor, pooled mean difference and its 95% CI were -0.34 (-0.46, -0.22) in TB patients. These results suggested that V5 immunitor holds important promise in improving sputum conversion to AFB- and inhibiting inflammatory reaction in TB patients, but showed no significant promotion to the increase in body weight based on this meta-analysis. Compared with the control group, V5 immunitor may have some potential in decreasing the temperature of TB patients. No systemic adverse events were reported., Conclusion: Added to chemotherapy, V5 immunitor seems to be helpful in the treatment of TB patients in terms of improving sputum conversion and reducing inflammatory reactions.

Locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) is an early-stage cervical cancer characterized by a local tumor diameter of ≥4 cm. Patients with LACC have a relatively poor prognosis. Although preoperative radiochemotherapy (PRCT) might offer a valuable opportunity for subsequent radical surgery, surgeons should also consider the nonresponsive rate, the adverse effects of PRCT, and the surgical complications before designing a treatment plan. Therefore, biomarkers for predicting PRCT sensitivity and prognosis in patients with LACC are of high importance. We investigated the prognostic significance of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in patients with LACC. A total of 43 patients with LACC who underwent PRCT (one course each of intravenous chemotherapy and after-loading intracavitary brachytherapy followed by a radical hysterectomy) during the period 2009-2014 were included in this study. VEGF and HIF-1α expression levels were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in LACC lesions before and after PRCT. In addition, we analyzed the association of these proteins with the clinical response and pathological findings of pelvic lymph node metastasis (PLNM) after the subsequent surgery. The total clinical response rate was 81.39% after PRCT, including five complete responses and 30 partial responses. VEGF and HIF-1α expression before PRCT was significantly higher than after PRCT (VEGF: 85.71% vs 66.67%; HIF-1α: 83.33% vs 59.52%, P<0.05). In addition, the same trend was found in patients with PLNM compared to those without PLNM (VEGF: 100% vs 77.78%; HIF-1α: 100% vs 74.07%, P<0.05). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were 0.896 and 0.835 when using pre-PRCT VEGF and HIF-1α expression levels, respectively, to diagnose PLNM in patients with LACC. Serial detection of VEGF and HIF-1α demonstrated a sensitivity of 66.67% and specificity of 88.89%. These findings suggest that VEGF and HIF-1α expressions are potential biomarkers for PRCT and have great clinical significance for the prediction of PRCT response and prognosis in patients with LACC.