Noninvasive Method For Diagnosis Research Articles

Simultaneous determination of exhaled breath vapor and exhaled breath aerosol using filter-incorporated needle-trap devices: A comparison of gas-phase and droplet-bound components

Breath-composition analysis is a well-established, non-invasive method for early disease diagnosis and investigating exposure history. However, this analytical approach is hampered by the aerosol nature of breath samples and/or low concentrations of volatile organic compounds. Conventionally, two separate methods have been applied to study gas phase and breath droplets, although these approaches are expensive and time-consuming. To address this issue, for the first time a needle-trap device packed with Carboxen, which served as a sorbent for the extraction of volatile analytes from the gas-phase, and electrospun polyacrylonitrile filter, which used to capture breath aerosol was applied to breath characterization. The performance of the developed device was subsequently compared to that of Carboxen-loaded thin-film microextraction, which was employed for the first time to extract free gas-phase components. Both methods were optimized, validated, and applied for the screening of breath samples obtained from volunteers. Obtained figures of merits are as follows: limits of detection (0.01–0.2 ng mL−1), recovery (81–108%) and repeatability (<13%). To investigate the effect of droplets, breath samples acquired with and without a face mask were compared. While both methods yielded similar results for the breath samples obtained with the mask, the needle-trap device was able to provide higher concentrations of volatile organic compounds for the samples acquired without a mask due to its enhanced ability to trap droplets. Additionally, tests were also conducted to investigate breath composition after accidental exposure to chemicals. The results of these tests revealed that polar compounds tended to partition to breath droplets and were eliminated from the body more quickly, while non-polar compounds tended to remain in the gas phase and were eliminated at a slower rate.

A Study of Logistic Regression for Fatigue Classification Based on Data of Tongue and Pulse.

Methods The Tongue and Face Diagnosis Analysis-1 instrument and Pulse Diagnosis Analysis-1 instrument were used to collect the tongue image and sphygmogram of the subhealth fatigue population (n = 252) and disease fatigue population (n = 1160), and we mainly analyzed the tongue and pulse characteristics and constructed the classification model by using the logistic regression method. Results The results showed that subhealth fatigue people and disease fatigue people had different characteristics of tongue and pulse, and the logistic regression model based on tongue and pulse data had a good classification effect. The accuracies of models of healthy controls and subhealth fatigue, subhealth fatigue and disease fatigue, and healthy controls and disease fatigue were 68.29%, 81.18%, and 84.73%, and the AUC was 0.698, 0.882, and 0.924, respectively. Conclusion This study provided a new noninvasive method for the fatigue diagnosis from the perspective of objective tongue and pulse data, and the modern tongue diagnosis and pulse diagnosis have good application prospects.

Preoperative Serum Calcitonin Level and Ultrasonographic Characteristics Predict the Risk of Metastatic Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: Functional Analysis of Calcitonin-Related Genes.

Background Early cervical lymph node (LN) metastasis is an important cause of poor survival in patients with medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). This study evaluated whether the preoperative serum calcitonin level in combination with ultrasonographic features of MTC can be used to assess the LN status as well as predict the risk of metastasis in patients with MTC. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 95 patients with MTC, and a nomogram model was constructed and validated. Using integrated database analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx), we mined pathways wherein CALCA is involved, identified calcitonin-related genes, and analyzed their functions. Results Correlation analysis revealed a significant association between the infiltrating range, diameter, calcification, blood flow, the preoperative serum calcitonin level, and metastasis. The metastasis risk-prediction model showed great accuracy in determining the risk of metastasis in MTC (area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curve: 0.979 [95% confidence interval 0.946–1.000]). Decision curve analysis (DCA) showed that the model has excellent clinical utilization potential. Significantly, CALCA, the mRNA for calcitonin, was highly expressed in thyroid cancer tissues and associated with the cytokine–cytokine receptor and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathways as well as the cell-adhesion molecules. ROC curve indicated that the CNTFR, CD27, GDF6, and TSLP genes, which are related to the cytokine–cytokine receptor interaction pathway, could indicate the risk of metastasis in MTC. Conclusions The preoperative serum calcitonin level, in combination with ultrasonographic features, can be used to predict the risk of metastasis in patients with MTC and constitute a noninvasive accurate method for preoperative diagnosis of MTC.

POS-219 Use of machine learning to develop and optimize a diagnostic model for membranous nephropathy

There is an increasing incidence of primary membranous nephropathy (MN), but a lack of efficient and reliable non-invasive methods for diagnosis. We examined the use of machine learning (ML) to develop and optimize a model for the diagnosis of MN, with a focus on anti-phospholipase A2 receptor antibody (anti-PLA2R-Ab).

The diagnostic value of quantitative imaging for acute myocardial infarction

To explore the diagnostic performance of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) with T1 mapping and T2 mapping for detection of acute phase of ischemic cardiomyopathy. Twenty-four patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) detected by coronary angiography from May 2020 to April 2021 in Tianjin First Center Hospital were selected. All patients underwent CMR (Philips Ingenia 3.0-T) at (9±4) days after definite diagnosis, which was defined as the first diagnosis. After 3 months and 6 months of chronic myocardial infarction (CMI) phase, one CMR was performed. On the same period with age and sex matching, a total of 26 cases of healthy volunteers and outpatient with non-specific chest pain and CMR examination without abnormality as control group. Plain scan included Cine, T2-weighted (STIR), and native T1/T2 mapping. The enhanced scan included perfusion, late gadolinium enhancement, post-T1 mapping. The changes of myocardial quantitative parameters before and after myocardial infarction were compared. Receiver operator characteristic curves (ROC curve) were developed to evaluate, compare, and distinguish the changes in the AMI group and the CMI group after 6 months. Pre-enhanced T1 value, T2 value and extracellular volume (ECV) of AMI group were significantly higher than those of control group [pre-enhanced T1 value (ms): 1 438.7±173.4 vs. 1 269.2±42.3, pre-enhanced T2 value (ms): 49.8±9.3 vs. 21.7±4.0 , ECV (%): 33.2±10.2 vs. 27.2±2.1, all P < 0.05]. ECV was significantly higher in AMI (%: 33.2±10.2 vs. 27.2±2.1), but stabilized after 3 months (%: 33.2±10.2 vs. 32.4±5.1), and after 6 months later (%: 27.7±4.9 vs. 32.4±5.1), there were no significant difference (all P > 0.05). Pre-enhanced T1 and T2 values were significantly higher in AMI, lower after 3 months, but significantly decreased after 6 months [pre-enhanced T1 values (ms): 1 438.7±173.4 vs. 1 272.1±25.2, pre-enhanced T2 values (ms): 49.8±9.3 vs. 29.0±4.0, all P < 0.05]. The ROC curve showed that the specificity of pre-enhanced T1 and T2 values between AMI and CMI were 100%, and the sensitivity were 72.7%, 100%, respectively, pre-enhanced T1 and T2 value could be better distinguish between AMI and CMI diagnosis method. T1 mapping and T2 mapping with ECV can clearly diagnosis ischemic cardiomyopathy, especially pre-enhanced myocardial T1 and T2 values which is non-invasive diagnosis method of AMI, and can distinguish AMI or CMI, has a great significance to the patient's clinical treatment and follow-up.

Experimental investigation of animals survival adequacy and efficacy in case of their soft tissues gunshot wounds using the thermometry technique

The problem of gunshot wounds treatment is one of the urgent and incompletely resolved issues of modern surgery. Diagnosis of gunshot wounds is currently not efficient enough. There was a need to improve the content and scope of medical care with the possibility of strengthening its diagnostic chain. The aim of the work is to substantiate experimentally the feasibility and effectiveness of using diagnostic infrared thermometry in gunshot wounds of the soft tissues of the extremities. Experimental studies were performed under the chronic experimental conditions on Shinshilla breed rabbits which were subjected to gunshot wounds followed by laboratory, morphological and functional examination for 5 days. The animals were divided into 3 groups depending on the type of gunshot wound that was inflicted. The animals were removed from the experiment by the introduction of chloroethyl anesthesia on the 1st, 3rd and 5th days, after which the soft tissues with the capsule surrounding the fragment were subjected to histological and electron microscopic examination. On the 1st day of the study, a significant decrease in the diameter of the blood vessels of the affected area was determined in the group of animals that were subject to injury with firearms and metal fragments from the explosion of a grenade and an improvised explosive device. It was in these groups that the highest mortality rate was registered. Under the specified conditions of injury to the limbs of animals, as well as when injured by a pneumatic weapon with a temperature of fragments of 100 oC, pronounced changes in pulse and respiratory rate were noted. In further studies on rabbits on the 3rd and 5th days of the experiment, the actual results did not differ from those obtained 24 hrs after injury. Those rabbits that survived after the reproduction of various gunshot wounds had the greatest value. The results of their thermometric measurements were evaluated in the dynamics of experimental gunshot wounds and revealed the dependence of animal survival after gunshot wounds on the temperature of the limb in the area of the wound.&#x0D; There are the following leading criteria in favor of animals further survival after gunshot wounds - the presence of a perforating vessel in the area surrounding the affected space; the size of the diameter of the vessels in the adjacent area; no hemorrhage in the muscle tissue located near the affected area; comparable with normal data of the functional parameters of the animal's body – heart rate, blood oxygen pressure and respiration; thermometry results. The limb thermometry has the important prognostic value after their gunshot wound in terms of experimental animals survival. The correspondence of high thermometry indexes after a gunshot wound vs the higher risk of an animal death is statistically reliable and, accordingly, insignificant thermometric dynamics throughout the experiment is in favor of a positive outcome after injury. It is extremely important to evaluate thermometry data during the first 24 hours after receiving gunshot wounds, since we found out the maximum validity of this method in the early time intervals. All this, with adequate clinical testing and verification, has the most important medical prospects, aimed primarily at saving time for diagnostic measures and procedures. Thermometry allows to judge the activity and severity of connective tissue inflammation or sclerosis in the lesions of each wound and provides the possibility of clinical application of remote thermography as a non-invasive method of diagnosis and prediction of complications in wounded with gunshot and explosives in various wounds.

Circular RNA Sequencing Reveals Serum Exosome Circular RNA Panel for High-Grade Astrocytoma Diagnosis.

Although major advances have been made in the histopathological diagnosis of high-grade astrocytoma (HGA), methods for effective and noninvasive diagnosis remain largely unknown. Exosomes can cross the blood-brain barrier and are readily accessible in human biofluids, making them promising biomarkers for HGA. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have potential as tumor biomarkers owing to their stability, conservation, and tissue specificity. However, the landscape and characteristics of exosome circRNAs in HGA remain to be studied. CircRNA deep sequencing and bioinformatics approaches were used to generate a circRNA profiling database and analyze the features of HGA cell circRNAs and HGA cell-derived exosome circRNAs. Exosome circRNA expression in the serum and tissues of healthy individuals and patients with HGA was detected using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. Additionally, the receiver operating characteristic curve and overall survival curves were analyzed. By investigating the characteristics of HGA cell-derived exosome circRNAs and HGA cell circRNAs, we observed that exosomes were more likely to enrich short-exon and suppressor circRNAs than HGA cells. Moreover, a serum exosome circRNA panel including hsa_circ_0075828, hsa_circ_0003828, and hsa_circ_0002976 could be used to screen for HGA, whereas a good prognosis panel comprised high concentrations of hsa_circ_0005019, hsa_circ_0000880, hsa_circ_0051680, and hsa_circ_0006365. This study revealed a comprehensive circRNA landscape in HGA exosomes and cells. The serum exosome circexosome circRNA panel and tissue circRNAs are potentially useful for HGA liquid biopsy and prognosis monitoring. Exosome circRNAs as novel targets should facilitate further biomarker discovery and aid in HGA diagnosis and therapy monitoring.

CT-based radiomics nomograms for preoperative prediction of diffuse-type and signet ring cell gastric cancer: a multicenter development and validation cohort

BackgroundThe prevalence of diffuse-type gastric cancer (GC), especially signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC), has shown an upward trend in the past decades. This study aimed to develop computed tomography (CT) based radiomics nomograms to distinguish diffuse-type and SRCC GC preoperatively.MethodsA total of 693 GC patients from two centers were retrospectively analyzed and divided into training, internal validation and external validation cohorts. Radiomics features were extracted from CT images, and the Lauren radiomics model was established with a support vector machine (SVM) classifier to identify diffuse-type GC. The Lauren radiomics nomogram integrating radiomics features score (Rad-score) and clinicopathological characteristics were developed and evaluated regarding prediction ability. Further, the SRCC radiomics nomogram designed to identify SRCC from diffuse-type GC was developed and evaluated following the same procedures.ResultsMultivariate analysis revealed that Rad-scores was significantly associated with diffuse-type GC and SRCC (p < 0.001). The Lauren radiomics nomogram showed promising prediction performance with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.895 (95%CI, 0.957–0.932), 0.841 (95%CI, 0.781–0.901) and 0.893 (95%CI, 0.831–0.955) in each cohort. The SRCC radiomics nomogram also showed good discrimination, with AUC of 0.905 (95%CI,0.866–0.944), 0.845 (95%CI, 0.775–0.915) and 0.918 (95%CI, 0.842–0.994) in each cohort. The radiomics nomograms showed great model fitness and clinical usefulness by calibration curve and decision curve analysis.ConclusionOur CT-based radiomics nomograms had the ability to identify the diffuse-type and SRCC GC, providing a non-invasive, efficient and preoperative diagnosis method. They may help guide preoperative clinical decision-making and benefit GC patients in the future.

Engineering Aspects of Incidence, Prevalence, and Management of Osteoarthritis: A Review.

The knee is the biggest and complicated lower extremity joint that supports mobility and the entire weight of the human body and lies between the hip joint and ankle joint. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disease in the knee among various musculoskeletal disorders globally, with an age-associated increase in incidence and prevalence. Health monitoring of the knee joints in daily life, and early OA diagnosis is challenging and draws attention to the various methods of diagnosis for this irreversible disease. In this review, electronic databases have been searched from inception for a detailed study about knee OA and its management. It focuses on various sensor technologies and different semi-invasive and non-invasive diagnosis methods with their limitations. In the last decade, various researchers have engrossed their attention to the potential of piezoelectric-based acoustic sensors to fabricate a wearable device for OA and its management. A sensor-based wearable device using vibroarthrography as a tool can be an appropriate solution for early-stage disease detection. We firmly believe that wearable technology for the detection of OA in daily life activities will play a significant role in managing this disease and help to reduce the chances of total knee replacements.

Features of the reproductive tract microbiota in patients with genital endometriosis. A literature review

BACKGROUND: Due to the widespread prevalence, steady growth and insufficient effectiveness of existing treatment regimens for external genital endometriosis, further study of the etiology and pathogenesis of the disease remains relevant. Inflammation is known to be one of the links in the pathogenesis of endometriosis; therefore, there is reason to believe that microorganisms are involved in the pathogenesis of this disease.&#x0D; AIM: The aim of this study was to analyze the role of the reproductive tract microbiota in patients with endometriosis.&#x0D; MATERIALS AND METHODS: This literature review was performed using systematic reviews, meta-analyses and experimental studies from such electronic databases as PubMed, CyberLeninka, and ScienceDirect published in the period from 1992 to 2021.&#x0D; RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In the review, we present the pathogenetic relationship between pelvic inflammatory diseases and endometriosis. The quantitatively and qualitatively altered microbiota composition of the reproductive tract, the genetic-epigenetic theory on the pathogenesis of endometriosis, which is based on mutations that accumulate directly under the influence of infectious agents, as well as the mechanisms of an abnormal immune response modeled by microorganisms, reflect the interconnection between the microbiota and the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Based on a number of studies, the relationship between the intestinal microbiota and the abdominal microbiome has been confirmed. Since endometriosis is the estrogen-dependent disease, of importance is the ability of the intestinal microbiota to produce -glucuronidase, which is enhanced by gut microbial dysbiosis, thus possibly contributing to the progression of endometriosis. One of the important practical directions is the drug correction of dysbiotic conditions. The effectiveness of antibiotic therapy has been demonstrated by experimentally induced endometriosis model. Currently, there are very few highly specific methods for non-invasive diagnosis of the disease, therefore, the study of the reproductive tract and intestinal microflora of women with endometriosis is promising for the introduction of new laboratory diagnostic methods.

Noninvasive prenatal diagnosis of congenital factor XIII deficiency in Iran

Congenital factor (F) XIII deficiency is a rare coagulation factor deficiency that is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. FXIII deficiency presents various clinical manifestations, such as intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), which is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality. As ICH can occur in the neonatal period, prenatal diagnosis (PND) is an effective way to reduce neonatal ICH and its associated fatal consequences. In this study, we investigated a noninvasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) method, cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA), for PND in FXIII deficiency. This study was conducted on seven pregnant women in the first trimester. After extraction of cffDNA from maternal plasma, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was performed to find the underlying F13A gene mutations previously identified in the family members. PCR-RFLP was also performed on postnatal DNA samples. Sanger sequencing was performed to confirm the results. Four cases were heterozygous for F13A gene mutations, whereas three were unaffected. PCR- RFLP results for cffDNA and postnatal DNA samples were identical, and Sanger sequencing confirmed the results. cffDNA is a noninvasive and effective method for PND in congenital FXIII deficiency.

A glance into the future of gout.

Gout is characterized by monosodium urate (MSU) crystal deposits in and within joints. These deposits result from persistent hyperuricaemia and most typically lead to recurrent acute inflammatory episodes (gout flares). Even though some aspects of gout are well characterized, uncertainties remain; this upcoming decade should provide further insights into many of these uncertainties. Synovial fluid analysis allows for the identification of MSU crystals and unequivocal diagnosis. Non-invasive methods for diagnosis are being explored, such as Raman spectroscopy and imaging modalities. Both ultrasound and dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) allow the detection of MSU crystals; this not only provides a mean of diagnosis, but also has furthered gout knowledge defining the presence of a preclinical deposition in asymptomatic hyperuricaemia. Scientific consensus establishes the beginning of gout as the beginning of symptoms (usually the first flare), but the concept is currently under review. For effective long-term gout management, the main goal is to promote crystal dissolution treatment by reducing serum urate below 6 mg/dL (or 5 mg/dL if faster crystal dissolution is required). Current urate-lowering therapies’ (ULTs) options are limited, with allopurinol and febuxostat being widely available, and probenecid, benzbromarone, and pegloticase available in some regions. New xanthine oxidase inhibitors and, especially, uricosurics inhibiting urate transporter URAT1 are under development; it is probable that the new decade will see a welcomed increase in the gout therapeutic armamentarium. Cardiovascular and renal comorbidities are common in gout patients. Studies determining whether optimal treatment of gout will positively impact these comorbidities are currently lacking, but will hopefully be forthcoming. Overall, the single change that will most impact gout management is greater uptake of international rheumatology society recommendations. Innovative strategies, such as nurse-led interventions based on these recommendations have recently demonstrated treatment success for people with gout.

ECG signals-based automated diagnosis of congestive heart failure using Deep CNN and LSTM architecture

In humans, Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) refers to the chronic progressive condition that drastically influences the pumping potentiality of the heart muscle. This CHF has the possibility of increasing health expenditure, morbidity, mortality and minimized quality of life. In this context, Electrocardiogram (ECG) is considered as the simplest and a non-invasive diagnosis method that aids in detecting and demonstrating the realizable changes in CHF. However, diagnosing CHF based on manual exploration of ECG signals is frequently impacted by errors as duration and small amplitude of the signals either investigated separately or in the integration is determined to neither specific nor sensitive. At this juncture, the reliability and diagnostic objectivity of ECG signals during the CHF detection process may be enhanced through the inclusion of automated computer-aided system. In this paper, Deep CNN and LSTM Architecture (DCNN-LSTM)-based automated diagnosis system is proposed for detecting CHF using ECG signals. In specific, CNN is included for the purpose of extracting deep features and LSTM is used for attaining the objective of CHF detection using the extracted features. This proposed DCNN-LSTM is evolved with minimal pre-processing of ECG signals and does not involve any classification process or manual engineered features during diagnosis. The experimentation of the proposed DCNN-LSTM conducted using the real time ECG signals datasets confirmed an accuracy of 99.52, sensitivity of 99.31%, specificity of 99.28%, F-Score of 98.94% and AUC of 99.9%, respectively.

A Preliminary Study on Exploring a potential Ultrasound Method for Predicting Cervical Cancer.

Background: The level of cervical cancer screening in underdeveloped countries is far behind that of developed countries mostly because current cervical cancer screening methods are difficult to implement in underdeveloped countries. The use of non-invasive, repeatable, and low-cost ultrasound needs to be accessed.Methods: The Canadian Sonix TOUCH ultrasound system and transvaginal ultrasound probe were used to record ultrasound radio frequency (RF) signals from cervical tissues of 69 patients with cervical cancer and 37 healthy women. The self-compiled RF time series signal analysis software was used to extract 3 different dimensions of parameters of the region of interest (ROI), including time domain, frequency domain, and fractal dimension (FD). Fourteen spectrum characteristic parameters were extracted, of which structure function method FD (SFD) and Higuchi FD belonged to FD parameters; slope, intercept, midbandfit, S1, S2, S3, and S4 were frequency domain parameters; and fuzzy entropy, kurtosis, peak, cross zero count, and cross zero standard deviation (Std) were time domain parameters.Results: The average values of the five time-domain characteristic parameters of cervical cancer tissues were smaller than those of normal cervical tissues (fuzzy entropy: 1.70±0.29 vs. 1.83±0.20; kurtosis: 0.347±0.03 vs. 0.350±0.02; peak: 1989.9±166.8 vs. 2024.69±187.5; cross zero count: 3.77±0.31 vs. 3.81±0.29; cross zero Std: 1.26±0.17 vs. 1.33±0.14), although the differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.130, 0.326, 0.618, 0.442, and 0.204, respectively). The average values ​​of the two FD characteristic parameters and the seven frequency domain characteristic parameters of cervical cancer tissues were larger than those of normal tissues (SFD: 1.84±0.28 vs. 1.46±0.39; Higuchi FD: 1.71±0.30 vs. 1.28±0.30; slope: -0.32±0.08 vs. -0.26±0.05; intercept: 0.48±0.02 vs. 0.46±0.02; midbandfit: 0.35±0.03 vs. 0.33±0.03; S1: 15.66±1.01 vs. 13.57±1.69; S2: 10.12±0.69 vs. 9.32±1.27; S3: 9.44±1.12 vs. 8.66±1.09; S4: 7.67±1.01 vs. 6.43±0.65), and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). No effective parameters were found to identify cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues with different levels of differentiation (P > 0.05).Conclusion: Quantitative analysis of RF time series signals based on ultrasound RF flow is expected to become a simple and non-invasive imaging method for cervical cancer diagnosis. However, whether it can be applied to the identification of early small cervical cancer lesions remains to be determined.

Development of a Non-invasive Diagnostic Method for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Gas Chromatographic Analysis of Exhaled Breath.

Since esophageal carcinoma progresses asymptomatically, for many patients the disease is already advanced at the time of diagnosis. The main methods that are currently used to diagnose esophageal carcinoma are upper gastrointestinal radiographic contrast examinations and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, but early discovery of this disease remains difficult. There is a need to develop a diagnostic method using biomarkers that is non-invasive while both highly sensitive and specific. Exhaled breath was collected from 17 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), as well as 9 control subjects without history of any cancer. For each fasting subject, 1L of exhaled breath was collected in a gas sampling bag. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were then extracted from each sample using Solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) fibers and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Levels of acetonitrile, acetic acid, acetone, and 2-butanone in exhaled breath were significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group (p = 0.0037, 0.0024, 0.0024 and 0.0037, respectively). ROC curves were drawn for these 4 VOCs, and the results for the area-under-the-curve (AUC) indicated that ESCC patients can be identified with a high probability of 0.93. We found distinctive VOCs in exhaled breath of ESCC patients. These VOCs have a potential as new clinical biomarkers for ESCC. The measurement of VOCs in exhaled breath may be a useful, non-invasive method for diagnosis of ESCC.

Reverse Iontophoretic Extraction of Skin Cancer-Related Biomarkers.

Non-invasive methods for early diagnosis of skin cancer are highly valued. One possible approach is to monitor relevant biomarkers such as tryptophan (Trp) and kynurenine (Kyn), on the skin surface. The primary aim of this in vitro investigation was, therefore, to examine whether reverse iontophoresis (RI) can enhance the extraction of Trp and Kyn, and to demonstrate how the Trp/Kyn ratio acquired from the skin surface reflects that in the epidermal tissue. The study also explored whether the pH of the receiver medium impacted on extraction efficiency, and assessed the suitability of a bicontinuous cubic liquid crystal as an alternative to a simple buffer solution for this purpose. RI substantially enhanced the extraction of Trp and Kyn, in particular towards the cathode. The Trp/Kyn ratio obtained on the surface matched that in the viable skin. Increasing the receiver solution pH from 4 to 9 improved extraction of both analytes, but did not significantly change the Trp/Kyn ratio. RI extraction of Trp and Kyn into the cubic liquid crystal was comparable to that achieved with simple aqueous receiver solutions. We conclude that RI offers a potential for non-invasive sampling of low-molecular weight biomarkers and further investigations in vivo are therefore warranted.

Photothermal effect of nano-copper sulfide against tongue squamous cell carcinoma

To investigate the anti-tumor effect of BSA@CuS-PEG nanocomposites on tongue squamous cell carcinoma. Transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, Zeta potential and ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy were used to characterize the synthesized BSA@CuS-PEG nanocomposite, whose photothermal properties was assessed with near infrared Ⅱ region excitation light (1064 nm). The cytotoxicity of the nanocomposite in Cal27 and SCC9 cells was evaluated using CCK-8 assay, and its effect on cell cycle distribution was analyzed using flow cytometry. The in vivo antitumor effect of BSA@CuS-PEG was investigated in a Balb/c mouse model bearing subcutaneous Cal27 tumor xenograft. The synthesized BSA@CuS-PEG nanocomposite showed a temperature variation (ΔT) of about 30 ℃ under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation (0.5 W/cm2), suggesting its excellent photothermal sensitivity. CCK-8 assay showed that BSA@CuS-PEG had no significant toxicity to tumor cells, but upon NIR irradiation, the nanocomposite produced a significant stronger inhibitory effect on Cal27 and SCC9 cells than free nanocomposites (P < 0.001). Cell cycle analysis showed that compared with free nanocomposites, BSA@CuS-PEG plus NIR irradiation caused more obvious cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase in tongue cancer cells (P < 0.001). In the tumor-bearing mice, BSA@CuS-PEG combined with NIR irradiation produced a significant anti-tumor effect as compared with saline treatment plus NIR irradiation (P < 0.001). The BSA@CuS-PEG nanocomposite shows prominent photothermal properties and good anti-tumor effects both in vivo and in vitro, and thus provides a promising method for non-invasive early diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of primary tongue cancer.

Impact assessment of different DNA extraction methods for non-invasive molecular diagnosis of tegumentary leishmaniasis

The aim of this study was to evaluate two methods of nucleic acid extraction (spin-column-based method – commercial kit and direct boil - DB) from swab sampling compared to biopsy sampling for the diagnosis of tegumentary leishmaniasis (TL), (cutaneous - CL and mucocutaneous - MCL forms). The impact of these nucleic acid extraction protocols on different types of PCR and LAMP techniques were compared regarding nucleic acid quality, molecular assays accuracy, indirect quantitation, and costs. The evaluated patients were 57 TL cases (36 CL and 21 MCL) and 34 non-cases. Swab samples extracted by the DB method showed a higher DNA degradation rate and worse DNA quality in comparison to the commercial kit. Molecular tests performed on biopsy samples showed identical or higher performance in all analysis, as compared to their own performance on swab samples for TL (CL and MCL). However, only the SSU rRNA TaqMan™ RT-PCR test showed a significant difference between the performance of biopsy and swab samples extracted by commercial kit. The kDNA-cPCR coupled with swab extracted by commercial kit showed the highest accuracy (95.6%) for TL diagnosis. The sensitivity of the LAMP-RT 18S method in swab samples extracted with a commercial kit (82.5%) was close to that found in biopsy samples (86%) for TL diagnosis. The DB extraction method presented the lowest cost. The use of swab as a minimally-invasive sampling method, associated with an efficient nucleic acid extraction protocol, may represent a low-cost alternative for the diagnosis of CL and MCL.

Study of Zinc and Manganese content in blood serum, feathers and claws in 14-, 21- and 28-days old broiler chickens with perosis

Culling due to poor condition, weight loss, mortalityand, as a result, economic losses due to perosa, accordingto various estimates, 1-5% of the group of birds. Due to thedysfunction of the limbs, the bird can suffer from a numberof diseases. Lack of essential nutrients play an important rolein the development of perosis in poultry. Often in farms dueto cost savings, reduce the cost of feed for broilers, which inturn can lead to metabolic disorders in poultry. Therefore, thediagnosis of these disorders requires new approaches. Modernscience is increasingly inclined to non-invasive diagnosis ofmetabolic pathologies. In human medicine, nails and hair areused to study persistent micronutrient deficiencies. And inveterinary medicine in the study of micronutrient deficienciesas a method of non-invasive diagnosis using animal hair.According to the results of our research, theconcentrations of microelements (Zn, Mn) in the feathers of14, 21 and 28-days-old clinically healthy and feathery broilerchickens were determined. On day 14 of the disease, theconcentration of Zinc and Manganese in broiler chickens withperosis was 65.6 ± 2.73 and 17.4 ± 0.79 μg / g, which wasprobably higher than in clinically healthy birds 46.5 ± 1.57(p &lt;0.001) and 10.9 ± 0.80 (p &lt;0.001) μg / g. Analyzing the indicators of micronutrients in the clawsof patients with feathers of broiler chickens of 28 days ofage, the content of Manganese was 10.2 ± 0.51 μg / g, whichis probably less than in clinically healthy birds 15.7 ± 0.97μg / g (p &lt; 0.01). The concentration of zinc in the claws ofhealthy birds is 127.6 ± 3.65 μg / g, which tended to increasecompared to that in healthy birds - 98.3 ± 5.40 μg / g.The results of the analysis show that in birds with signs ofperosis, Zinc and Manganese accumulate in higher concentrations in the feathers compared to clinically healthy chickens. Inturn, the concentration of these elements in the claws in chickens with feathers relative to healthy birds of the group decreases. Key words: trace elements, non-invasive diagnostics,metabolic pathologies, avian.

Plasma extracellular vesicle microRNA profiling and the identification of a diagnostic signature for stage I lung adenocarcinoma.

At present, there is no effective noninvasive method for the accurate diagnosis of early‐stage lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). This study examined the profile of plasma extracellular vesicle (EV)‐delivered microRNAs (miRNAs) in patients with invasive stage I LUAD. In this study, a total of 460 participants were enrolled, including 254 patients with LUAD, 76 patients with benign pulmonary nodules (BPNs), and 130 healthy control patients (HCs). miRNA sequencing was used to analyze the EV miRNA profile of the patient plasma samples (n = 150). A diagnostic signature (d‐signature) was identified by applying a stepwise logistic regression algorithm, and a single‐center training cohort (n = 150) was tested, followed by a multicenter validation cohort (n = 100). A d‐signature comprising four EV‐derived miRNAs (hsa‐miR‐106b‐3p, hsa‐miR‐125a‐5p, hsa‐miR‐3615, and hsa‐miR‐450b‐5p) was developed for the early detection of LUAD. The d‐signature had high precision with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.917 and 0.902 in the training and test cohorts, respectively. Moreover, the d‐signature could recognize patients with adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA) with AUC values of 0.846 and 0.92, respectively. To sum up, our study detailed the plasma EV–derived miRNA profile in early LUAD patients and developed an EV‐derived miRNA d‐signature to detect early LUAD.