Search

PurposeThis meta-analysis aims to compare the diagnostic efficacy of [18F]FDG PET/CT and [18F]FDG PET/MRI in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).MethodsAn extensive literature search was conducted throughout the PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases for works accessible through September 2024. We included studies assessed the diagnostic efficacy of [18F]FDG PET/CT and [18F]FDG PET/MRI in NSCLC.ResultsThe meta-analysis includes six studies with a total of 437 patients. The sensitivity and specificity of [18F]FDG PET/CT and [18F]FDG PET/MRI for detecting lymph node metastasis were similar, at 0.82 (0.68–0.94) vs. 0.86 (0.70–0.97) and 0.88 (0.76–0.96) vs. 0.90 (0.85–0.94), respectively, with no significant differences (p = 0.70 for sensitivity, p = 0.75 for specificity). For distant metastasis, the sensitivity of [18F]FDG PET/CT and [18F]FDG PET/MRI was 0.86 (0.60–1.00) and 0.93 (0.63–1.00), and specificity was 0.89 (0.65–1.00) vs. 0.90 (0.64–1.00), respectively, also showing no significant differences (p = 0.66 for sensitivity, p = 0.97 for specificity).ConclusionOur meta-analysis shows that [18F]FDG PET/MRI has similar sensitivity and specificity to [18F]FDG PET/CT in identifying lymph node and distant metastases in patients with NSCLC. Additional larger sample prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42023479817, CRD42023479817.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has emerged as a powerful immunotherapy in relapsed/refractory (R/R) hematological malignancies, especially in R/R B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), and multiple myeloma (MM). To prevent disease progression and reduce tumor burden during CAR-T cell manufacturing, bridging therapies prior to CAR-T cell infusion are crucial. At present, it has been demonstrated that targeted therapy, radiotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) could serve as effective bridging strategies. However, whether cryoablation could serve as a novel bridging strategy is unknown. In this paper, we report 2 cases of R/R B cell malignancies with bulky disease that were successfully treated with a combination of cryoablation and CAR-T cell therapy. Patient 1 was a 65-year-old female who was diagnosed with R/R MM with extramedullary disease (EMD). She was enrolled in the anti-BCMA CAR-T cell clinical trial. Patient 2 was a 70-year-old man who presented with a subcutaneous mass in the right anterior thigh and was diagnosed with primary cutaneous diffuse large B cell lymphoma, leg type (PCLBCL-LT) 1 year ago. He failed multiline chemotherapies as well as radiotherapy. Thus, he requested anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy. Unfortunately, they all experienced local progression during CAR-T cell manufacturing. To rapidly achieve local tumor control and reduce tumor burden, they both received cryoablation as a bridging therapy. Patient 1 achieved a very good partial response (VGPR) 1 month after CAR-T cell infusion, and patient 2 achieved a partial response (PR) 1 month after CAR-T cell infusion. In addition, adverse effects were tolerable and manageable. Our study demonstrated the favorable safety and efficacy of combination therapy with cryoablation and CAR-T cell therapy for the first time, and it also indicates that cryoablation could serve as a novel therapeutic strategy for local tumor control in B cell malignancies.

Abstract Abnormal endometrial receptivity is a major cause of the failure of embryo transplantation, which may lead to infertility, adverse pregnancy, and neonatal outcomes. While hormonal treatment has dramatically improved the fertility outcomes in women with endometriosis, a substantial unmet need persists in the treatment. In this study, methacrylate gelatin (GelMA) and methacrylate sericin (SerMA) hydrogel with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUMSC) encapsulation was designed for facilitating endometrial regeneration and fertility restoration through in situ injection. The presented GelMA/10%SerMA hydrogel showed appropriate swelling ratio, good mechanical properties, and degradation stability. In vitro cell experiments showed that the prepared hydrogels had excellent biocompatibility and cell encapsulation ability of HUMSC. Further in vivo experiments demonstrated that GelMA/SerMA@HUMSC hydrogel could increase the thickness of endometrium and improve the endometrial interstitial fibrosis. Moreover, regenerated endometrial tissue was more receptive to transfer embryos. Summary, we believed that GelMA/SerMA@HUMSC hydrogel will hold tremendous promise to repair or regenerate damaged endometrium.

Abstract Objective This study investigated the influence of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on lung function in early convalescence phase. Methods A retrospective study of COVID-19 patients at the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were conducted, with serial assessments including lung volumes (TLC), spirometry (FVC, FEV1), lung diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO),respiratory muscle strength, 6-min walking distance (6MWD) and high resolution CT being collected at 30 days after discharged. Results Fifty-seven patients completed the serial assessments. There were 40 non-severe cases and 17 severe cases. Thirty-one patients (54.3%) had abnormal CT findings. Abnormalities were detected in the pulmonary function tests in 43 (75.4%) of the patients. Six (10.5%), 5(8.7%), 25(43.8%) 7(12.3%), and 30 (52.6%) patients had FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC ratio, TLC, and DLCO values less than 80% of predicted values, respectively. 28 (49.1%) and 13 (22.8%) patients had PImax and PEmax values less than 80% of the corresponding predicted values. Compared with non-severe cases, severe patients showed higher incidence of DLCO impairment (75.6%vs42.5%, p = 0.019), higher lung total severity score (TSS) and R20, and significantly lower percentage of predicted TLC and 6MWD. No significant correlation between TSS and pulmonary function parameters was found during follow-up visit. Conclusion Impaired diffusing-capacity, lower respiratory muscle strength, and lung imaging abnormalities were detected in more than half of the COVID-19 patients in early convalescence phase. Compared with non-severe cases, severe patients had a higher incidence of DLCO impairment and encountered more TLC decrease and 6MWD decline.

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a serious acute, highly contagious disease caused by the peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV). This study aims to establish a qRT-PCR assay with an internal amplification control for the rapid and accurate detection of PPRV. The primers and probes for PPRV N were based on the national standard of the diagnostic techniques for PPR of China, and a pair of primers and TaqMan probes for the internal reference gene of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was designed. Optimisation of the reaction conditions, specificity, sensitivity and reproducibility tests, and clinical sample detection were conducted. The results showed that the optimal primers and probe concentrations of PPRV were 0.4 μmol/l and 0.4 μmol/l, respectively, and were 0.4 μmol/l and 0.2 μmol/l for the reference gene GAPDH, respectively. The established method has no cross-reaction with other viruses. The minimum detection limit was 6.8 copies/µl for PPRV and 190 copies/µl for GAPDH. The coefficients of variation (CV%) of PPRV and GAPDH were both lower than 2%. The results suggest that the PPRV qRT-PCR method containing internal reference genes has strong specificity, high sensitivity, and good reproducibility. The addition of internal reference genes for the sample quality control improves the accuracy of the detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation has been widely used as an efficient rice production method to obtain better yield without continuous flooding (CF) of the paddy field. However, how this practice affects gene expression to regulate rice physiology and morphology is largely unknown. In this study, we used two rice varieties, Nipponbare, a lowland rice cultivar, and Gaoshan 1, an upland cultivar, and found that root dry weight (RDW) and root oxidation activity (ROA) in both cultivars substantially increased in response to AWD. We then analyzed the differences in transcriptome profiles of their roots irrigated in AWD vs. CF conditions. AWD responsive genes are mainly involved in lignin biosynthetic pathway and phytohormone signal transduction pathway and belong mainly to bHLH, bZIP, NAC, WRKY, and HSF transcription factor families. We discussed how these differentially expressed genes may contribute to the morphological adaptations observed in roots exposed to AWD. This analysis also provides useful information to explain the similarities and differences in adaptation to AWD irrigation between the two rice ecotypes.

Abstract Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation has been widely used to replace continuous flooding (CF), which does not result in yield loss while improving water productivity. However, it is still unexplored as to how this agricultural practice would affect gene expression to control plant physiology. In this study, we found that photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), transpiration rate (Tr), chlorophyll (Chl) content, and leaf water potential (Lwp) significantly decreased while abscisic acid (ABA) content and water use efficiency (WUE) increased when soil water potential reached to −15 kPa in the AWD irrigation regime. We then analyzed the differences between AWD and CF irrigation practices in transcriptomic profiles for flag leaves. Genes were found to be differentially expressed in photosynthesis related pathways namely, Chl biosynthesis, photosynthesis‐antenna proteins pathway, photosynthesis process, and ABA signal transduction pathway. The study provides important information on the morphological adaptations observed in the flag leaves in response to AWD irrigation, which will act as a basic framework to conduct molecular studies for improving rice cultivation.