Clinical-radiomics nomogram using contrast-enhanced CT to predict histological grade and survival in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: Tumor grading is important for prognosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). In this study, we developed preoperative clinical-radiomics nomograms using features from contrast-enhanced CT (CECT), to discriminate high-grade and low-grade PDAC and predict overall survival (OS). Methods: In this single-center, retrospective study conducted from February 2014 to April 2021, consecutive PDAC patients who underwent CECT and had pathologically identified grading were randomized to training (n=200) and test (n=84) cohorts for development of model to predict histological grade based on radiomics scores from CECT (HGrad). Another 42 patients were used as external validation cohort of HGrad. A nomogram (HGnom) was constructed using radiomics score, CA12-5 and smoking to predict histological grade. A second nomogram (Pnom) was constructed using radiomics score, CA12-5, TNM, adjuvant treatment, resection margin and microvascular invasion to predict OS in radical resection patients (217 of 284). Results: Among 326 patients, 122 were high-grade (120 poorly differentiated and 2 undifferentiated). The HGrad yielded AUCs of 0.75 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.85) and 0.76 (95% CI: 0.60, 0.91) in test and validation cohorts. The HGnom achieved AUCs of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.66, 0.87), and the predicted grades calibrated well with actual grades (P=.13). OS was different between the grades predicted by radiomics scores (P=.01). The integrated AUC of the Pnom for predicting OS was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.88). Conclusion: Compared with the HGrad using features from CECT, the HGnom demonstrated higher performance for predicting histological grade. The Pnom helped identify patients with high survival outcome in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Integrating lipid metabolism, pheromone production and perception by Fruitless and Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4.

Sexual attraction and perception are crucial for mating and reproductive success. In Drosophila melanogaster, the male-specific isoform of Fruitless (Fru), FruM, is a known master neuro-regulator of innate courtship behavior to control the perception of sex pheromones in sensory neurons. Here, we show that the non-sex-specific Fru isoform (FruCOM) is necessary for pheromone biosynthesis in hepatocyte-like oenocytes for sexual attraction. Loss of FruCOM in oenocytes resulted in adults with reduced levels of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), including sex pheromones, and show altered sexual attraction and reduced cuticular hydrophobicity. We further identify Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 (Hnf4) as a key target of FruCOM in directing fatty acid conversion to hydrocarbons. Fru or Hnf4 depletion in oenocytes disrupts lipid homeostasis, resulting in a sex-dimorphic CHC profile that differs from doublesex- and transformer-dependent CHC dimorphism. Thus, Fru couples pheromone perception and production in separate organs to regulate chemosensory communications and ensure efficient mating behavior.

Integrating lipid metabolism, pheromone production and perception by Fruitless and Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4.

Sexual attraction and perception, governed by separate genetic circuits in different organs, are crucial for mating and reproductive success, yet the mechanisms of how these two aspects are integrated remain unclear. In Drosophila , the male-specific isoform of Fruitless (Fru), Fru M , is known as a master neuro-regulator of innate courtship behavior to control perception of sex pheromones in sensory neurons. Here we show that the non-sex specific Fru isoform (Fru COM ) is necessary for pheromone biosynthesis in hepatocyte-like oenocytes for sexual attraction. Loss of Fru COM in oenocytes resulted in adults with reduced levels of the cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), including sex pheromones, and show altered sexual attraction and reduced cuticular hydrophobicity. We further identify Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4 ( Hnf4 ) as a key target of Fru COM in directing fatty acid conversion to hydrocarbons in adult oenocytes. fru - and Hnf4 -depletion disrupts lipid homeostasis, resulting in a novel sex-dimorphic CHC profile, which differs from doublesex - and transformer -dependent sexual dimorphism of the CHC profile. Thus, Fru couples pheromone perception and production in separate organs for precise coordination of chemosensory communication that ensures efficient mating behavior. Teaser: Fruitless and lipid metabolism regulator HNF4 integrate pheromone biosynthesis and perception to ensure robust courtship behavior.

Retroperitoneal bronchogenic cyst in suprarenal region treated by laparoscopic resection: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Bronchogenic cysts (BCs) are benign congenital foregut malformations that are mostly present in the mediastinum and pulmonary parenchyma but rarely seen in the retroperitoneum. CASE SUMMARY: We report the case of 17-year-old girl who complained of epigastric pain. A cystic lesion was found in the left suprarenal region on spectral computed tomography. The ovoid, well-defined, and homogeneous cystic lesion revealed slightly enhancement on conventional imaging but no enhancement on 40 KeV virtual mono-energetic images. The iodine density value of the lesion was 0.001 mg/mL and the Z-effective value was 7.25, which were close to those of fluid material in in vitro experiments. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a cystic mass of intermediate signal intensity on T1-weighted imaging and high signal intensity on T2-weighted imaging. A laparoscopic surgery was carried out. Intraoperatively, a cystic lesion with a smooth surface was found in the left retroperitoneum. And the cystic wall was completely resected after intracystic fluid was suctioned. The histopathological examination findings of the lesion were compatible with BC. The patient recovered uneventfully without sighs of recurrence during a 10-mo follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Radiological examinations play a significant role in the diagnosis of suprarenal BCs and spectral images offer additional spectral parameters. Accurate preoperative diagnoses of retroperitoneal BCs based on thorough imaging examinations are beneficial to the operation of laparoscopic resection.

Application of Immune Infiltration Signature and Machine Learning Model in the Differential Diagnosis and Prognosis of Bone-Related Malignancies.

Bone-related malignancies, such as osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, multiple myeloma, and cancer bone metastases have similar histological context, but they are distinct in origin and biological behavior. We hypothesize that a distinct immune infiltrative microenvironment exists in these four most common malignant bone-associated tumors and can be used for tumor diagnosis and patient prognosis. After sample cleaning, data integration, and batch effect removal, we used 22 publicly available datasets to draw out the tumor immune microenvironment using the ssGSEA algorithm. The diagnostic model was developed using the random forest. Further statistical analysis of the immune microenvironment and clinical data of patients with osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma was carried out. The results suggested significant differences in the microenvironment of bone-related tumors, and the diagnostic accuracy of the model was higher than 97%. Also, high infiltration of multiple immune cells in Ewing's sarcoma was suggestive of poor patient prognosis. Meanwhile, increased infiltration of macrophages and B cells suggested a better prognosis for patients with osteosarcoma, and effector memory CD8 T cells and type 2 T helper cells correlated with patients' chemotherapy responsiveness and tumor metastasis. Our study revealed that the random forest diagnostic model based on immune infiltration can accurately perform the differential diagnosis of bone-related malignancies. The immune microenvironment of osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma has an important impact on patient prognosis. Suppressing the highly inflammatory environment of Ewing's sarcoma and promoting macrophage and B cell infiltration may have good potential to be a novel adjuvant treatment option for osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma.

Relationship between pancreatic parenchyma loss and early postoperative hyperglycemia in patients with benign pancreatic diseases.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between pancreatic parenchyma loss and early postoperative hyperglycemia in patients with benign pancreatic diseases. METHODS: A total of 171 patients with benign pancreatic tumors or chronic pancreatitis, whose preoperative fasting blood glucose (FBG) was normal and who underwent partial pancreatectomy were reviewed. The pancreatic volume was measured by CT imaging before and after the operation. According to their different pancreatic resection volume (PRV), 171 patients were divided into five groups: < 30%, 30%-39%, 40%-49%, 50%-59%, and ≥ 60%. The correlation between the PRV and postoperative FBG was investigated. According to the postoperative FBG value, the patients were divided into a hyperglycemia group (HG) and nonhyperglycemia group (non-HG) to explore the best cutoff value of the PRV between the two groups. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the postoperative FBG among the five groups (PRV < 30%, 30%-39%, 40%-49%, 50%-59%, and ≥ 60%). The PRV was positively correlated with postoperative FBG in the benign tumor group and chronic pancreatitis group (R = 0.727 and 0.651, respectively). ROC curve analysis showed that the best cutoff value of the PRV between the HG (n = 84) and non-HG (n = 87) was 39.95% with an AUC = 0.898; the sensitivity was 89.29%, and the specificity was 82.76%. CONCLUSION: There was a linear positive correlation between the postoperative FBG level and PRV. Patients with a PRV ≥ 40% are more likely to develop early postoperative hyperglycemia.

[Fluoride Removal Efficiency of Novel Material:Magnetite Core/Zirconia Shell Nanocomposite].

Magnetite core/zirconia shell nanocomposite (abbreviated as Fe3O4@ZrO2 hereafter) was obtained using one-step co-precipitation method and its performance for removal of fluoride ion from water was studied. The results showed that the Langmuir maximum adsorption capacity of fluoride ion by Fe3O4@ZrO2 was 35.46 mg·g-1, which was far higher than those of magnetite, activated alumina and activated carbon. Studies of adsorption kinetics indicated that the adsorption of fluoride ion by Fe3O4@ZrO2 was fast and could be well described by the pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption process of fluoride ion was an endothermic reaction. The adsorption of fluoride ion by Fe3O4@ZrO2 decreased with increasing pH. Chloride, nitrate and sulfate anions, which commonly coexist in drinking water, had little effect on F- adsorption, although the coexistence of HCO3- and CO32- reduced the adsorption significantly by increasing the pH of the solution system. The fluoride adsorbed by Fe3O4@ZrO2 could be successfully desorbed with 1 mol·L-1 NaOH solution as desorption agent. The desorption rate reached 99.5%-99.6%. The F--desorbed Fe3O4@ZrO2 could be reused for the removal of F- after regeneration via restoring the protonation status of surface hydroxyl groups on hydrous zirconia. The removal efficiency of fluoride by Fe3O4@ZrO2 from actual well water was lower than that from pure water, but concentration limit for fluoride in drinking water could still be attained by increasing the dosage to a sufficiently high level. Fe3O4@ZrO2 is a promising material for fluoride removal due to its good performance, simple preparation method and easy separation from water by providing an external magnetic field.

Rare Concurrence of Two Congenital Disorders: Miller-Dieker Syndrome and T-Cell Lymphopenia.

Miller-Dieker syndrome (MDS; OMIM 247200) is a rare contiguous gene deletion syndrome associated with lissencephaly and characteristic facial dysmorphism. T-cell lymphopenia is an immunodeficiency disorder which can be early detected by newborn blood screening, and all live vaccines should be avoided. We report a 2.32-Mb microdeletion at chromosome 17p13.3p13.2 and T-cell lymphopenia in a 6-month-old male infant with MDS. This is, to our knowledge, the first description of these 2 conditions co-occurring in the same patient.

[Removal and Recycle of Phosphor from Water Using Magnetic Core/Shell Structured Fe3O4 @ SiO2Nanoparticles Functionalized with Hydrous Aluminum Oxide].

A novel magnetic core/shell structured nano-particle Fe3O4@ SiO2phosphor-removal ahsorbent functionalized with hydrous aluminum oxides (Fe3O4@ SiO2@ Al2O3· nH2O) was synthesized. Fe3O4@ SiO2@ Al2O3· nH2O was characterized by XRD, TEM, VSM and BET nitrogen adsorption experiment. The XRD and TEM results demonstrated the presence of the core/shell structure, with saturated magnetization and specific surface area of 56.00 emu · g⁻¹ and 47.27 m² · g⁻¹, respectively. In batch phosphor adsorption experiment, the Langmuir adsorption maximum capacity was 12.90 mg · g⁻¹ and nearly 96% phosphor could be rapidly removed within a contact time of 40 mm. Adsorption of phosphor on Fe3O4@ SiO2@ Al2O3 · nH2O was highly dependent on pH condition, and the favored pH range was 5-9 in which the phosphor removal rate was above 90%. In the treatment of sewage water, the recommended dosage was 1.25 kg · t⁻¹. In 5 cycles of adsorption-regeneration-desorption experiment, over 90% of the adsorbed phosphor could be desorbed with 1 mol · L⁻¹ NaOH, and Fe3O4@ SiO2@ Al2O3· nH2O could be reused after regeneration by pH adjustment with slightly decreased phosphor removal rate with increasing recycling number, which proved the recyclability of Fe3O4@ SiO2@ Al2O3· nH2O and thereby its potential in recycling of phosphor resources.