Diagnostic performance of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for breast cancer detection: An update meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) for breast cancer identification. METHODS: A comprehensive electronic systematic searching of Medline, Ovid, EMBASE, Web of Science, CNK, and Cochrane Library databases was performed up to 2 August 2021. Clinical studies associated with DCE-MRI for breast cancer detection were screened and inlcuded in the meta-analysis. The data of true positive(tp), false positive(fp), false negative(fn) and true negative(tn) was extracted from includded studies. The sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) were pooled under fixed or random effect models. Publication bias was evaluated by Deek's funnel plot. RESULTS: A final set of 15 studies with 1321 breast lesions were included in the present work. The pooled diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and DOR were 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.81-0.92), 0.74 (95% CI 0.68-0.80), and 18.83 (95% CI 9.07-36.54), respectively, and the area under the SROC was 0.86 (95% CI 0.82-0.88). Given a pretest probability of 50%, the positive post-test probability was 77%, and the negative post-test probability was 14%. Deek's funnel plot indicated low publication bias (p = 0.61). CONCLUSION: DCE-MRI is a noninvasive method of breast cancer diagnosis for suspected malignant breast lesions with relative high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.

Intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging evaluated the response to concurrent chemoradiotherapy in patients with cervical cancer.

To evaluate the application of multiple b values diffusion-weighted imaging based on biexponential signal decay model to predict the response to concurrent chemoradiotherapy in cervical cancer patients.This prospective study enrolled 28 patients (mean age: 50.89 ±â€Š10.70 years) with cervical cancer confirmed by biopsy who received concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Pelvic magnetic resonance scans were performed 2 weeks before, 7 days and 21 days after the initiation of therapy, and 1 month after the end of the treatment. Diffusion-weighted imaging with b values of 0, 50, 450, and 850 s/mm were performed, and tumor volume, means of tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)min, ADCmean, ADCslow, ADCfast, and Ffast were measured.Pretreatment ADCmin and ADCslow of good outcome group were significantly higher than those of poor outcome group (P < .05). At the 7th day of the treatment, Ffast and its change rate of good outcome group were significantly higher than those of poor outcome group (P < .05). At the 7th day and 21st day of the treatment, Ffast showed a slowly increasing tendency with no significant difference compared with pretreatment value in poor outcome group (P < .05). One month post-treatment, only ADCslow change rate was significantly higher in good outcome group than that in poor outcome group.Intravoxel incoherent motion-related ADC values could be utilized to better predict the outcome of cervical cancer chemoradiotherapy.

Altered functional connectivity density in high myopia.

Abnormal visual experience can affect the brain structure and function. Visual functional performances of high myopia (HM) individuals were observed to be abnormal in contrast to emmetropics, even with a corrected visual acuity. Attention deficits and brain morphological changes have been revealed in the HM, but it is unknown whether there are functional connectivity (FC) alterations. The current study combined the resting-state functional connectivity density (FCD) mapping and seed-based correlation analysis to investigate FC alterations in the brain of HM. In our results, the HM exhibited decreased short- and long-range FCD in the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus and decreased long-range FCD in the inferior temporal gyrus, supramarginal gyrus and rostrolateral prefrontal cortex. Specially, long-range FCD in the rostrolateral prefrontal cortex showed a significant positive correlation with the uncorrected visual acuity in the HM. Moreover, the HM showed significantly decreased FC not only between the supramarginal gyrus and rostrolateral prefrontal cortex, but also between networks they belong to, the ventral attention and frontoparietal control networks. These results provide evidence for the FC changes in the HM and may help to understand the attention deficits in myopes.

Metabolic routes along digestive system of licorice: multicomponent sequential metabolism method in rat.

This study was conducted to establish the multicomponent sequential metabolism (MSM) method based on comparative analysis along the digestive system following oral administration of licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., leguminosae), a traditional Chinese medicine widely used for harmonizing other ingredients in a formulae. The licorice water extract (LWE) dissolved in Krebs-Ringer buffer solution (1 g/mL) was used to carry out the experiments and the comparative analysis was performed using HPLC and LC-MS/MS methods. In vitro incubation, in situ closed-loop and in vivo blood sampling were used to measure the LWE metabolic profile along the digestive system. The incubation experiment showed that the LWE was basically stable in digestive juice. A comparative analysis presented the metabolic profile of each prototype and its corresponding metabolites then. Liver was the major metabolic organ for LWE, and the metabolism by the intestinal flora and gut wall was also an important part of the process. The MSM method was practical and could be a potential method to describe the metabolic routes of multiple components before absorption into the systemic blood stream. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Identification of the related substances in ampicillin capsule by rapid resolution liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Rapid Resolution Liquid Chromatography coupled with Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry (RRLC-ESI-MS(n)) was used to separate and identify related substances in ampicillin capsule. The fragmentation behaviors of related substances were used to identify their chemical structures. Finally, a total of 13 related substances in ampicillin capsule were identified, including four identified components for the first time and three groups of isomers on the basis of the exact mass, fragmentation behaviors, retention time, and chemical structures in the literature. This study avoided time-consuming and complex chemosynthesis of related substances of ampicillin and the results could be useful for the quality control of ampicillin capsule to guarantee its safety in clinic. In the meantime, it provided a good example for the rapid identification of chemical structures of related substances of drugs.

[Combination analysis of new drug discovery with "Xiaohe Silian" method and traditional Chinese medicine clinical pharmacy].

With the kernel of efficacy, "Xiaohe Silian" was a pattern and method for new drug discovery which was constituted with "metabolism-efficacy, toxicity-efficacy, quality-efficacy and structure-efficacy". Its connotation was in keeping with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinical pharmacy. This paper systematically summarized the research method of new drug discovery practice process for TCM. To avoid western drug like in TCM new drug discovery, we carried out combination analysis with TCM clinical pharmacy. The correlation analysis between basic elements of "Xiaohe Silian(n) and TCM clinical pharmacy was studied to guarantee this method could integrate closely with TCM clinic from all angles. Hence, this method aimed to provide a new method for TCM new drug discovery on the basis of TCM clinical pharmacy with insisting on holistic view of multicomponent study, kinetic view of metabolic process when the curative effect occurred and molecular material view of quality control and structure-activity exposition.

[Study of attribution of multicomponent original medicinal materials in gegen qinlian decoction with intestinal permeability].

The complex level of constructing biopharmaceutics classification system of Chinese materia medica CMMBCS) was the study of traditional Chinese compound, on the premise of insisting that the multicomponent simultaneous determination, when carrying out the study of intestinal permeability, the primary task was to define the source of the components that was absorbed through the intestinal wall, namely, which medicinal material the components belonged to in traditional Chinese compound. The technology of chemical fingerprint and in vitro everted gut sac model were used in this research to make multicomponent an intuitive source attribution which permeated the intestine in the classic formula Gegen Qinlian decoction, and to lay the foundation for the further qualitative and quantitative research of intestinal permeability.

Ex vivo and in situ approaches used to study intestinal absorption.

Over the recent years, intestinal absorption has been recognized as a critical factor affecting the bioavailability of oral drugs. Intestinal absorption is affected by many factors including the physicochemical property of the drug, the absorption mechanisms, and the need for absorption enhancers. Ex vivo and in situ methods have been used extensively to evaluate the intestinal absorption of new drugs. Biological performance can be obtained rapidly and reliably using these techniques. However, these approaches have many inadequacies which need to be recognized so that appropriate adjustments can be made to the methodology. These shortcomings also need to be accounted for during the interpretation and application of the results in vivo situations. This review describes ex vivo and in situ models of drug absorption, and compares their relative advantages and drawbacks to assist researchers in selecting appropriate models for different drug and therapeutic situations.

Voxel-based analysis of regional gray and white matter concentration in high myopia.

Structural changes of the brain have been detected in many early-onset eye diseases, whereas little is known about whether changes could occur if the onset age is after the sensitive development period. High Myopia is a prime example of neural plasticity after development, whose case history is usually long. To investigate potential morphological changes in the brain of high myopic patients, we compared a group of 30 adults with high myopia and 30 control subjects using high-resolution anatomic MRI in combination with vision tests. No difference in gray matter (GM) concentration was detected. However, increased concentration of white matter (WM) was observed in patients with high myopia, primarily in the calcarine area. Another three comparatively smaller regions were in the prefrontal and parietal lobe. It can be inferred that cortices developed normally and refractive error in high myopic patients may be compensated by strengthening the correlation between visual cortex and visual related areas. Our study suggests that besides early-onset diseases, the late-onset eye diseases can also affect the structure of brain.