Differential diagnosis of breast nodules with acoustic attenuation by ultrasonic elastography imaging / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective:To explore the differential diagnostic value of ultrasonic elastography for breast nodules with acoustic attenuation.Methods:A total of 105 cases with breast nodules with posterior echo attenuation from June 2017 to October 2019 in Shenzhen People′s Hospital were enrolled. Routine ultrasound examination and elastography were performed and maximum of elastography(Emax), mean of elastography value(Emean), minimum of elastography value(Emin) and strain ratio of fat/strain ratio of nodules(B/A) were recorded. With the pathological results as the diagnosed gold standard, elastic parameters different between benign and malignant breast nodules with posterior echo attenuation were compared. And the Emax value of elastic imaging was analyzed by the ROC curve.Results:There were 65 cases of benign nodules and 40 cases of malignancy. The difference of ultrasound E imaging were statistically significant for judging benign and malignant breast nodules with acoustic attenuation( P<0.05). When Emax 95 kPa was set as the cut-off value for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignat breast nodules, the area under the ROC curve was 0.817, and the sensitivity was 88% and the specificity was 72%. Conclusions:Ultrasonic elastrography is of great value for differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast nodules with acoustic attenuation, and it is important for the decision making of clinical treatment plan.

Sputum Autoantibodies Are More Relevant in Autoimmune Responses in Asthma than Are Serum Autoantibodies

PURPOSE: The data on the differences between sputum autoantibodies (Sp-Abs) and serum autoantibodies (Se-Abs) in reflection of autoimmune responses to lungs is still lacking. METHODS: Ten types of Abs were investigated in matched Se and Sp samples collected from recruited subjects. Correlations between Ab levels and airway inflammatory parameters and measures of pulmonary function were assessed. The network-based and inter-correlated analysis was performed to explore the patterns of Sp- and Se-Ab profiles. RESULTS: Fifty stable asthmatic patients and 24 healthy volunteers were recruited for our study, 15 with mild asthma, 18 with moderate asthma and 17 with severe asthma. The concentrations of Sp-Ab against U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (Sp-anti-U1-SnRNP), Sp-Ab against Smith antigen and Se-Ab against thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) in severe asthmatics and Sp-anti-U1-SnRNP in moderate asthmatics were significantly higher compared to healthy controls and mild asthmatic subjects (P < 0.05). Sp-anti-U1-SnRNP levels were positively correlated with the dose of inhaled corticosteroids, Sp eosinophil counts and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (r = 0.326, P = 0.022; r = 0.356, P = 0.012; r = 0.241, P = 0.025, respectively) and negatively correlated with Sp neutrophil counts (r = −0.308, P = 0.031) with adjustment for age. Spearman's correlation matrix showed multiple inter-correlations among Sp-Abs and Se-Abs (P < 0.05) while only the levels of Ab against DNA topoisomerase and anti-TPO in Se were correlated with those Sp-Ab counterparts (P < 0.05). The network-based analysis defined 2 clusters: clusters 1 and 2 contained 10 Sp-Abs and 10 Se-Abs, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study observes that Sp-Abs are more associated with clinical parameters and the severity of disease in asthma compared to Se-Abs. Targeting on Sp-Abs which are the hallmark of the localized autoimmune event might help us better understand the role of autoimmunity in the pathological mechanism of asthma.

Ultrasonographic diagnosis of deep infiltrating endometriosis with involvement of pelvic tissues / 中国医学影像技术

Objective To explore the diagnostic value of ultrasonography in diagnosing deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) with involvement of pelvic tissues.Methods Data of 118 DIE patients confirmed with surgery and pathology who underwent transvaginal ultrasonography before surgery were retrospectively analyzed.Taking surgical and pathologic findings as the gold standards,the sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of ultrasonography in diagnosis of DIE with involvement of uterosacral ligament,intestine,vaginal rectal septum,vagina,bladder and ureter were calculated,respectively.Results Uterosacral ligament involvement was found in 85 patients,with sensitivity of 95.29％ (81/85) and specificity of 90.91％ (30/33).Intestinal involvement was observed in 60 patients,with sensitivity of 98.33％ (59/60) and specificity of 91.38％ (53/58).Vaginal rectal septum involvement was noticed in 39 patients,with sensitivity of 79.49％ (31/39) and specificity of 92.41％ (73/79).Vaginal involvement was detected in 18 patients,with sensitivity of 55.56 ％ (10/18) and specificity of 96.00 ％ (96/100).Bladder involvementwas found in 17 patients,with sensitivity of 76.47％ (13/17) and specificity of 94.06％ (95/101).Ureter involvement was also found in 9 patients,with sensitivity of 100％ (9/9) and specificity of 99.08％ (108/109).Conclusion Transvagina ultrasonography has great value in diagnosis of DIE with involvement of pelvic tissues.

Identification and purification of major allergens in Artemisia sieversiana pollen / 中国免疫学杂志

Objective:To isolate,identify and purify the Artemisia sieversiana pollen ,the mostly widespread pollen among the Artemisia pollens in China.Methods: Artemisia sieversiana extract was precipitated by saturated ammonium sulfate and then electrophoresed by SDS-PAGE.The molecular mass of each protein band was determined by gel media system.The primary allergen proteins were identified by Western blot.Allergen proteins were purified and identified by DEAE-cellulose DE-52 ion exchange chroma-tography ( IEC) and Western blot.Results: We isolated more than twenty protein bands from Artemisia sieversiana pollen extract , including the most abundant six bands whose Mr were 62 kD,57 kD,38 kD,29 kD,25 kD,14 kD espectively.The protein bands with Mr were 62 kD and 16 kD had the highest binding capacity with the specific IgE from Artemisia pollen allergic patients.The DEAE-cellulose DE-32 IEC was used to purify the primary allergen proteins with Mr 62 kD and 16 kD.Conclusion:The primary allergens of Artemisia sieversiana include the allergen proteins whose Mr are 62 kD,16 kD and the allergen of Mr 62 kD and 16 kD can be purified by chromatography.