Search

Background: The differential diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion (MPE) and benign pleural effusion (BPE) presents a clinical challenge. In recent years, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) machine learning models for disease diagnosis has increased. Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate a diagnostic model for early differentiation between MPE and BPE based on routine laboratory data. Design: This was a retrospective observational cohort study. Methods: A total of 2352 newly diagnosed patients with pleural effusion (PE), between January 2008 and March 2021, were eventually enrolled. Among them, 1435, 466, and 451 participants were randomly assigned to the training, validation, and testing cohorts in a ratio of 3:1:1. Clinical parameters, including age, sex, and laboratory parameters of PE patients, were abstracted for analysis. Based on 81 candidate laboratory variables, five machine learning models, namely extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) model, logistic regression (LR) model, random forest (RF) model, support vector machine (SVM) model, and multilayer perceptron (MLP) model were developed. Their respective diagnostic performances for MPE were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: Among the five models, the XGBoost model exhibited the best diagnostic performance for MPE (area under the curve (AUC): 0.903, 0.918, and 0.886 in the training, validation, and testing cohorts, respectively). Additionally, the XGBoost model outperformed carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in pleural fluid (PF), serum, and the PF/serum ratio (AUC: 0.726, 0.699, and 0.692 in the training cohort; 0.763, 0.695, and 0.731 in the validation cohort; and 0.722, 0.729, and 0.693 in the testing cohort, respectively). Furthermore, compared with CEA, the XGBoost model demonstrated greater diagnostic power and sensitivity in diagnosing lung cancer-induced MPE. Conclusion: The development of a machine learning model utilizing routine laboratory biomarkers significantly enhances the diagnostic capability for distinguishing between MPE and BPE. The XGBoost model emerges as a valuable tool for the diagnosis of MPE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We fabricate a series of square-lattice subwavelength circular, rectangular, and trapezoidal air-hole arrays drilled in opaque gold thin films and measured the transmission spectra of light passing through these metallic nanostructures in the near-infrared range. The measured results show strong dependence of extraordinary optical transmission on the lattice constant, hole size, and hole shape. The wavelengths of the transmission peaks and dips are mainly determined by the lattice constant. However, they are also influenced by the parameters of the hole size and hole shape. The experimental data agree well with numerical calculation results by means of a plane-wave transfer-matrix method when the detailed geometry of the air holes is fully considered. The results indicate that the extraordinary light transmission through subwavelength metallic nanostructures of air-hole arrays are governed by excitation of surface plasmon polaritons on the metal surface and their scattering by periodic air-hole arrays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We fabricate periodic arrays of simple-square and composite-square air hole nanostructures on a 120 nm thick Au film deposited on glass substrate by focused ion beam technology and study their optical properties by examining the optical near-field distribution via scanning near-field optical microscopy in the near-infrared region. The simple-square nanostructure only contains one square air hole in each unit cell, while the composite-square one contains the same size square air hole in the center and eight smaller square air holes in the periphery. The measured optical near-field patterns for the two nanostructures show very different distribution features. High intensity light spots locate within the central square air hole in the simple-square structure, while they sit at the peripheral smaller square air holes in the composite-square structure. Numerical simulations based on the plane-wave transfer-matrix method have been carried out to analyze the optical near-field patterns for the two metallic nanostructures and agree well with the experimental data. The results indicate that light interaction with metallic nanostructures is very sensitive to even a small change in the subtle geometrical feature. Meanwhile, by comparing near-field patterns with dielectric nanostructures theoretically, we also find that optical confinement is better for gold nanostructures than for dielectric nanostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the underlying mechanisms of the protective role of remote ischemic perconditioning (RIPerC) in rat liver transplantation., Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to sham, orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), ischemic postconditioning (IPostC) or RIPerC. After 3 h reperfusion, blood samples were taken for measurement of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, creatinine (Cr) and creatinine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB). The liver lobes were harvested for the following measurements: reactive oxygen species (ROS), H 2 O 2 , mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) and total nitric oxide (NO). These measurements were determined using an ROS/H 2 O 2 , JC1 and Total NOx Assay Kit, respectively. Endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting, and peroxynitrite was semi-quantified by western blotting of 3-nitrotyrosine., Results: Compared with the OLT group, the grafts subjected to RIPerC showed significantly improved liver and remote organ functions ( P < 0.05). ROS ( P < 0.001) including H 2 O 2 ( P < 0.05) were largely elevated in the OLT group as compared with the sham group, and RIPerC ( P < 0.05) reversed this trend. The collapse of ΔΨm induced by OLT ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury was significantly attenuated in the RIPerC group ( P < 0.001). A marked increase of NO content and phosphoserine eNOS, both in protein and mRNA levels, was observed in liver graft of the RIPerC group as compared with the OLT group ( P < 0.05). I/R-induced 3-nitrotyrosine content was significantly reduced in the RIPerC group as compared with the OLT group ( P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the RIPerC and IPostC groups for all the results except Cr. The Cr level was lower in the RIPerC group than in the IPostC group ( P < 0.01)., Conclusion: Liver graft protection by RIPerC is similar to or better than that of IPostC, and involves inhibition of oxidative stress and up-regulation of the PI3K/Akt/eNOS/NO pathway., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare there is no conflict of interest related to this study.

Objective: To investigate the killing effect of hypericin on tachyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii RH strain in vitro., Methods: Normal saline （group A） and different concentrations of hypericin (5 μg/ml, group B; 50 μg/ml, group C; 500 μg/ml, group D） were added to T. gondii tachyzoites in 24-well plate（1×10(6)/well）. The tachyzoites were harvested after 2, 4 and 6 h, and underwent the following treatment: trypan blue staining to calculate the dyeing rate, Giemsa staining to observe the morphological and structural alterations of tachyzoites, and transmission electron microscopy to observe the ultrastructure of tachyzoites. In addition, flow cytometry was performed to calculate the survival rate of YFP-carrying Toxoplasma with the same treatment., Results: The trypan blue dyeing rate at 2 h after treatment in groups B, C and D was（11.0±3.6）%, （25.0±6.3）% and（40.0±2.7）% respectively, with a significant difference of group D versus B and C （P<0.01）, and groups C and D versus group A ［（6.0±3.0）%）］. The dyeing rate at 4 h and 6 h in group D was（97.0±2.0）% and （98.0±1.7）%, respectively, both significantly higher than that of groups C ［（30.0±7.2）%, （42.7±5.5）%］, B ［（20.0±3.0）%, （34.0±6.6）%］ and A ［（10.0±1.0）%, （19.3±4.9）%］（P<0.01）. Giemsa staining showed gradual end swelling and necrosis of tachyzoites with increased treatment duration and dosage. Transmission electron microscopy showed swelling of worm body, gap between cell membrane and matrix, increase and enlargement of vacuoles inside worm body, disruption of cell membrane, and dissolving of inner structures, with increased treatment duration. Flow cytometry showed significant difference of tachyzoite survival rate at 2, 4 and 6 h after hypericin treatment with that of the control group（P<0.01）. The survival rate of group C at 2 h after hypericin treatment was（7.9±1.9）%, significantly lower than that of groups B ［（38.1±5.5）%］ and A ［（81.8±6.0）%］ （P<0.01）. No tachyzoite was found to survive in group D at 2 h and in group C at 4 h. The survival rate of group B at 4 and 6 h after hypericin treatment was（14.3±7.9）% and （1.4±1.8）%, respectively, both significantly lower than that of group A［（73.8±11.3）% and（64.1±14.4）%, respectively］ （P<0.01）., Conclusion: Hypericin has a remarkable killing effect on T. gondii tachyzoites, and the efficacy positively correlates with the dose and treatment duration.

Objective: To clone a gametocyte specific protein Pfgdv1 of Plasmodium falciparum, express and identify recombinant Pfgdvl protein in vitro., Methods: PCR was performed to amplify Pfgdv1 from P. falciparum DNA which was got from the patient who was infected with P. falciparum, and the PCR product was inserted into pET28a (+) vector. pET28a-Pfgdv1 recombinant plasmid was constructed and transformed into E. coli host BL21 (DE3+). IPTG was used to induce the recombinant Pfgdv1 protein fused with His tag, and the protein was purified by His-NTA affinity chromatography. The recombinant protein was identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting., Results: The PCR product of Pfgdv1 gene was about 1.65 kb, meeting the expectation of predicted fragment size. The recombinant protein was about 67 kDa, which could be recognized by His-Tag monoclonal antibody., Conclusion: The Pfgdv1 gene of P. falciparum is successfully cloned, and the recombinant Pfgdv1 protein is expressed, thereby providing an opportunity for further study on transmission blocking vaccine.

The fingerprints of Rhizoma coptidis (Huanglian) collected in different growing periods were established by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the seasonal variations of six alkaloids, namely berberine, palmatine, jateorrhizine, coptisine, epiberberine and columbamine were assessed. In order to highlight the differences of their HPLC fingerprints, three chemometrics methods including Spearman's rank correlation, hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis were applied. The anti-inflammatory activity of R. coptidis collected in different developing stages was measured by NO inhibition assay. The relationship between HPLC fingerprints and anti-inflammatory activity named spectrum-effect relationship was investigated by partial least squares regression. The anti-inflammatory activity was positively correlated with the alkaloid contents. Berberine, palmatine, coptisine, jateorrhizine and epiberberine were the main anti-inflammatory components on the basis of the quantitative determination of the six alkaloids and spectrum-effect investigation. The collecting time of R. coptidis impacted the plant's alkaloid contents and its anti-inflammatory activity., (© The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

The title compound, C18H22N2O5, was synthesized by nitrification of its enol precursor. The pyrrolidine ring plane adopts a twisted conformation about the C-C bond linking the spiro centre and the C=O group remote from the N atom. It makes dihedral angles of 71.69 (9) and 88.92 (9)°, respectively, with the benzene ring plane and the plane defined by the four C atoms that form the seat of the of the cyclo-hexane chair. At the spiro centre, the NH group is axial and the C=O group is equatorial with respect to the cyclo-hexane ring. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by pairs of N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds generate R 2 (2)(8) loops. The dimers are linked by C-H⋯O inter-actions, generating a three-dimensional network.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of heparin gelatin sponge stickers in the treatment of traumatic perforation of tympanic membrane., Methods: Total of 79 cases (83 ears) of traumatic perforation of tympanic membrane were randomly divided into two groups: the test group had 54 patients (58 ears), and the control group had 25 cases (25 ears). The test group received the treatment of heparin gelatin sponge stickers, and the control group received conservative traditional drying method. All the subjects were followed up for 4 weeks, observed and recorded the rate and healing period of traumatic tympanic membrane., Results: In 4-week's follow-up, 56 ears were cured in the test group, with a rate of 96.55%. Fourteen ears were cured in the control group with a rate of 56.00%. The healing rate of test group was significantly higher than that of the control group (χ(2) = 18.79, P < 0.01). The average of healing period was 17.6 days in the test group, and 32.0 days in the control group. There were significant differences in healing period between two groups (t = 6.37, P < 0.01). All the cured tympanic membrane in the test group was morphologically complete. In all followed up patients, there were no allergies and signs of infection, as well as other adverse reaction in the process of healing., Conclusion: The heparin gelatin sponge can effectively enhance closure of the traumatic perforation of tympanic membrane and can shorten the healing period of traumatic perforation of tympanic membrane, and the smaller of the perforation, the shorter of healing period.

We demonstrate design, fabrication, and ray trace observation of negative refraction of near-infrared light in a two-dimensional square lattice of air holes etched into an air-bridged silicon slab. Special surface morphologies are designed to reduce the impedance mismatch when light refracts from a homogeneous silicon slab into the photonic crystal slab. We clearly observed negative refraction of infrared light for TE-like modes in a broad wavelength range by using scanning near-field optical microscopy technology. The experimental results are in good agreement with finite-difference time-domain simulations. The results indicate the designed photonic crystal structure can serve as polarization beam splitter.

We identified a novel ubiquitin-like molecule DULP from human dendritic cells. DULP contains a domain that shares 26% identity and 34% similarity with ubiquitin, and it possesses the corresponding Ile-44 hydrophobic patch used by mono- or poly-ubiquitin to interact with a ubiquitin-interaction motif (UIM) or ubiquitin-associated domain (UBA). Lysine residue corresponding to 6 of ubiquitin, which is involved in the formation of a multi-ubiquitin chain that can bind proteasomal subunit Rpn10/S5a, is also conserved in its ubiquitin-homology domain. However, DULP does not possess the highly conserved C-terminus Gly-Gly required for ubiquitin conjugation or the Lys-48 required for the formation of polyubiquitin chain to target substrates for degradation, suggesting it might be a novel ubiquitin-domain protein (UDP). DULP was found widely expressed in many cells and the ubiquitin-homology domain was not cleaved. We also confirmed that DULP expression was enriched in the nucleus and much weaker in the cytosol. Besides, we found that overexpression of DULP in 293T cells induced apoptosis, which might not be associated with the mitochondrial or proteasome pathway, with the specific mechanism remaining unclear. Further investigations are needed to identify the precise biological functions of DULP.