Performance of the IOTA ADNEX model combined with HE4 for identifying early-stage ovarian cancer.

Objective: This work was designed to investigate the performance of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) ADNEX (Assessment of Different NEoplasias in the adneXa) model combined with human epithelial protein 4 (HE4) for early ovarian cancer (OC) detection. Methods: A total of 376 women who were hospitalized and operated on in Women and Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University were selected. Ultrasonographic images, cancer antigen-125 (CA 125) levels, and HE4 levels were obtained. All cases were analyzed and the histopathological diagnosis serves as the reference standard. Based on the IOTA ADNEX model post-processing software, the risk prediction value was calculated. We analyzed receiver operating characteristic curves to determine whether the IOTA ADNEX model alone or combined with HE4 provided better diagnostic accuracy. Results: The area under the curve (AUC) of the ADNEX model alone or combined with HE4 in predicting benign and malignant ovarian tumors was 0.914 (95% CI, 0.881-0.941) and 0.916 (95% CI, 0.883-0.942), respectively. With the cutoff risk of 10%, the ADNEX model had a sensitivity of 0.93 (95% CI, 0.87-0.97) and a specificity of 0.73 (95% CI, 0.67-0.78), while combined with HE4, it had a sensitivity of 0.90 (95% CI, 0.84-0.95) and a specificity of 0.81 (95% CI, 0.76-0.86). The IOTA ADNEX model combined with HE4 was better at improving the accuracy of the differential diagnosis between different OCs than the IOTA ADNEX model alone. A significant difference was found in separating borderline masses from Stage II-IV OC (p = 0.0257). Conclusions: A combination of the IOTA ADNEX model and HE4 can improve the specificity of diagnosis of ovarian benign and malignant tumors and increase the sensitivity and effectiveness of the differential diagnosis of Stage II-IV OC and borderline tumors.

[Urban Aerosol Hygroscopicity During Haze Weather].

The hygroscopicity of aerosols has an important influence on atmospheric visibility and is one of the main causes of haze pollution. Based on observations of the aerosol hygroscopic growth factor (GF), water soluble inorganic ions, and organic carbon/elemental carbon (OC/EC) data during haze weather from April 17 to May 21, in 2014, the hygroscopic properties of aerosols and corresponding effects on haze in Nanjing were analyzed. The results showed that the distribution of GF was bimodal and varied from 1.12 to 1.64. With the increase of particle size, the average hygroscopic growth factor (GFmean) changed less and the standard deviation of wettability (σ) increased gradually; meanwhile, the degree of external mixing of chemical components increased gradually. The hygroscopicity of aerosol particles in the day was better than that at night, but the mixing degree was weaker than that at night; in non-haze weather, the hygroscopicity of aerosol particles was stronger and the degree of external mixing was higher, while the hygroscopicity and mixing degree of haze particles showed opposite trends. With the increase of haze levels, the hygroscopicity of aerosol particles grew weaker and the degree of external mixing decreased further. Relative humidity can have a significant impact on the chemical components of aerosols and their hygroscopic capacity. Under a low humidity background, the main chemical components of aerosols included NH4+, NO3-, SO42-, OC, and EC, and the content of OC/EC in aerosols during haze days was more abundant; in haze weather with low relative humidity, abundant organic matter was the main reason for the decrease of the moisture absorption capacity of small-scale aerosols. The level of relative humidity in the haze weather was also an important factor affecting the hygroscopic capacity of aerosols. The contents of (NH4)2SO4, OC, and insoluble substances in aerosols were the highest, followed by NH4NO3. The contents of these chemical components showed obvious diurnal variation characteristics, which resulted in significant diurnal variation of the hygroscopicity of the aerosols. κchem calculated by the chemical composition and κmean acquired by observations using H-TDMA showed good consistency, and the correlation coefficient was 0.8903. In haze weather, the correlation between them was further enhanced. Therefore, the major chemical components of aerosols could be used to predict the hygroscopic properties of aerosols.

[Characteristics of Key Size Spectrum of PM2.5 Affecting Winter Haze Pollution in Taiyuan].

PM2.5 is generally considered as a main pollutant causing the formation of haze. Based on meteorological parameters, aerosol distribution, and PM monitoring data in Taiyuan during November and December 2016, the characteristics of the key size spectrum of PM2.5 affecting haze were discussed. During the observation period, haze was frequent and serious. Heavy haze time accounts for 25.35% of the total haze time. Haze events occurred frequently when the relative humidity was greater than 80% and wind speed was less than 1.5 m·s-1, especially for severe haze. Mild and moderate level haze occurred frequently when the relative humidity was less than 80% and greater than 40% and when wind speed was less than 1.5 m·s-1. Slight haze mainly occurred when the relative humidity was 20%-40% and the wind speed was 1.25-2.55 m·s-1. The average mass concentration of PM2.5 was 209.45 µg·m-3, which was three times the level during non-haze events. With an increase in the haze level, the mass concentration of PM2.5 and the ratio of PM2.5/PM10 increased. PM1 was the key particle size affecting haze in the low humidity environment. PM0.5 was the key particle size that affects slight haze, mild haze, and moderate haze in the high humidity environment, while PM1 was the key particle size that affects heavy haze. The contribution of surface concentration to visibility decreased with high humidity, but the particle size increased by moisture absorption leading to an increase in the extinction efficiency factor, which compensated for the lack of surface concentration. The increase in the particle size parameter was an important factor for PM2.5 affecting the haze pollution with high humidity.

Dust aerosol properties and radiative forcing observed in spring during 2001-2014 over urban Beijing, China.

The ground-based characteristics (optical and radiative properties) of dust aerosols measured during the springtime between 2001 and 2014 were investigated over urban Beijing, China. The seasonal averaged aerosol optical depth (AOD) during spring of 2001-2014 was about 0.78 at 440 nm. During dust days, higher AOD occurred associated with lower Ångström exponent (AE). The mean AE440-870 in the springtime was about 1.0, indicating dominance of fine particles over the region. The back-trajectory analysis revealed that the dust was transported from the deserts of Inner Mongolia and Mongolia arid regions to Beijing. The aerosol volume size distribution showed a bimodal distribution pattern, with its highest peak observed in coarse mode for all episodes (especially for dust days with increased volume concentration). The single scattering albedo (SSA) increased with wavelength on dust days, indicating the presence of more scattering particles. Furthermore, the complex parts (real and imaginary) of refractive index showed distinct characteristics with lower imaginary values (also scattering) on dust days. The shortwave (SW; 0.2-4.0 µm) and longwave (LW; 4-100 µm) aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) values were computed from the Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (SBDART) model both at the top of atmosphere (TOA) and the bottom of atmosphere (BOA) during dust and non-dust (dust free) days, and the corresponding heating rates and forcing efficiencies were also estimated. The SW (LW) ARF, therefore, produced significant cooling (warming) effects at both the TOA and the BOA over Beijing.

[Hygroscopic Properties and Closure of Aerosol Chemical Composition in Mt. Huang in Summer].

The hygroscopic properties of aerosol have significant impact on aerosol optical properties, cloud condensation nuclei activity and human health. Aerosol particles growth factor and size-resolved ions chemical compositions were monitored in Mt. Huang. The hygroscopic properties of aerosol particles in Mt. Huang were studied. The results demonstrated that between 70 nm and 230 nm, the mass fractions of (NH4)2SO4, organic matter and other insoluble materials were the highest. The fraction of NH4NO3 standed in the medium. The fraction of NH4HSO4 was the lowest. The fraction of inorganic salts increased with increasing particle diameter. Aerosol particles during daytime had stronger hygroscopicity than that at night and the hygroscopicity of aerosol became stronger when its diameter increased. The calculation hygroscopic parameter κ of aerosol particles showed similar diurnal variation characteristics to the observation κ. Good closure could be achieved when ZSR mixing rule was used based on aerosol chemical composition to calculate aerosol hygroscopic parameter κ and the coefficient of determination was 0.60 for all the diameters.

Prevalence of chronic pain and its impact on health-related quality of life in stroke survivors.

OBJECTIVES: To document the prevalence of chronic pain and to evaluate the effect of pain on quality of life (QOL) in patients 6 months or more after a stroke. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Outpatient clinic of a rehabilitation center. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred seven stroke patients (68 men, 39 women; mean age, 60.9 y) attending the outpatient clinic of a rehabilitation center. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients were interviewed on pain, QOL, mood, and functional status by using the short form of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), Beck Depression Inventory, and Modified Barthel Index (MBI), respectively. RESULTS: Self-reported chronic pain was present in 45 patients (42%), with 32 having musculoskeletal pain and 13 central poststroke pain. It was significantly more common in patients with a shorter poststroke duration (P=.025), but was not related to the nature of stroke (infarct or bleed), age, gender, presence of depression, and MBI score. There was no difference in the SF-36 scores between patients with and without pain except for the domain of bodily pain. When compared with patients with musculoskeletal pain, patients with central poststroke pain were more likely to have sensory impairments (P=.009), higher pain scores on the question "least pain in the past 24 hours" of the BPI (P=.036), and lower scores on the vitality domain of the SF-36 (P=.042). CONCLUSION: Pain is common in chronic stroke patients, and it does not appear to have a significant effect on patients' QOL.