ABSTRACT Objective: Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBCB) has developed rapidly and has become one of the research hotspots of lung biopsy technology. The present study sought to evaluate the efficacy of TBCB guided by radial-probe EBUS (RP-EBUS) and a guide sheath (GS) without fluoroscopy for peripheral pulmonary lesions. Methods: In this retrospective study, McNemar’s test was used in order to compare TBCB and transbronchial forceps biopsy (TBFB) in terms of diagnostic performance. A multivariate logistic regression model was designed to explore the association between predictive variables and the diagnostic yield of TBCB. Results: A total of 168 patients underwent GS-guided RP-EBUS. Of those, 157 had lesions that were visible and 11 had lesions that were not. Of those 157 patients, 24 were excluded because of missing data or an unclear final diagnosis. Therefore, 133 patients underwent RP-EBUS-GS-guided TBFB and TBCB. The pooled diagnostic yield of RP-EBUS-GS-guided TBCB without fluoroscopy was 71.5% (103/144). In 133 patients, the diagnostic yield of TBCB was significantly higher than that of TBFB (77.4% vs. 59.4%; p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis indicated that lesion size and site were independently associated with the diagnostic yield of TBCB (OR = 2.8, p = 0.03 and OR = 4.1, p = 0.01, respectively), although cryoprobe size was not. There was no significant difference between the 1.1-mm cryoprobe and the 1.9-mm cryoprobe in terms of diagnostic performance (78.4% vs. 76.8%; p > 0.05). Conclusions: GS-guided RP-EBUS is regarded as a practical option for guiding cryobiopsy, although it may not be able to replace fluoroscopy. Peripheral pulmonary lesions not located in the upper lobes or larger than 30 mm are significantly associated with a higher diagnostic yield of cryobiopsy.

RESUMO Objetivo: A criobiópsia transbrônquica (CBTB) desenvolveu-se rapidamente e tornou-se um dos focos de pesquisa de tecnologia de biópsia pulmonar. O presente estudo buscou avaliar a eficácia da CBTB guiada por EBUS radial com bainha guia sem fluoroscopia no diagnóstico de lesões pulmonares periféricas. Métodos: Neste estudo retrospectivo, o teste de McNemar foi usado para comparar a CBTB e a biópsia transbrônquica com pinça (BTB) quanto ao desempenho diagnóstico. Um modelo de regressão logística multivariada foi criado para explorar a relação entre variáveis preditivas e o rendimento diagnóstico da CBTB. Resultados: Um total de 168 pacientes foram submetidos a EBUS radial com bainha guia. Destes, 157 apresentavam lesões que puderam ser visualizadas e 11 apresentavam lesões que não puderam ser visualizadas. Dos 157 pacientes, 24 foram excluídos em virtude de dados incompletos ou diagnóstico final incerto. Portanto, 133 pacientes foram submetidos a BTB e CBTB guiadas por EBUS radial com bainha guia. O rendimento diagnóstico combinado da CBTB guiada por EBUS radial com bainha guia foi de 71,5%. O rendimento diagnóstico da CBTB foi significativamente maior que o da BTB (77,4% vs. 59,4%; p < 0,05). A análise multivariada indicou que o tamanho e o local da lesão apresentaram relação independente com o rendimento diagnóstico da CBTB (OR = 2,8, p = 0,03 e OR = 4,1, p = 0,01, respectivamente); o tamanho da criossonda, por sua vez, não apresentou relação com o rendimento diagnóstico da CBTB. Não houve diferença significativa entre a criossonda de 1,1 mm e a de 1,9 mm no que tange ao desempenho diagnóstico (78,4% vs. 76,8%; p > 0,05). Conclusões: EBUS radial com bainha guia é uma opção prática para guiar a criobiópsia, embora talvez não possa substituir a fluoroscopia. Lesões pulmonares periféricas que não estejam nos lobos superiores ou que tenham mais de 30 mm apresentam relação significativa com maior rendimento diagnóstico da criobiópsia.

Abstract Tea polyphenols are one of the most important ingredients in Qingzhuan tea. Usually, a chemical method is used to determine tea polyphenols content, but it was time-consuming and laborious. This paper attempted to use near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technology combined with three partial least squares methods to predict tea polyphenols content quickly and nondestructively. The partial least squares (PLS), synergy interval PLS (siPLS) and genetic algorithm based PLS (gaPLS) were used to establish prediction models, the performance of the final model was showed by root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) and determination coefficient (Rp2) in prediction set. The best spectral preprocessing method was multivariate scattering correction (MSC); the RMSEP and Rp2 of PLS model were 0.145% and 0.8974, respectively; the siPLS model was established with four spectral regions (4377.6 cm-1-4751.7 cm-1, 4755.6 cm-1-5129.7 cm-1, 6262.7 cm-1-6633.9 cm-1 and 7386 cm-1-7756.3 cm-1), whose RMSEP and Rp2 were 0.0652% and 0.9235, respectively; the gaPLS model was established with 36 spectra dada points and showed the best performance (RMSEP=0.0624%, Rp2=0.9769) compared with the PLS and si-PLS models. Therefore, the application of near infrared technology combined with the gaPLS method could predict tea polyphenols content in Qingzhuan tea more accurately and rapidly.

Abstract Background Anti-ribosomal P (anti-Rib-P) antibody is a specific serological marker for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and routinely tested by targeting the common epitope of three ribosomal proteins of P0, P1 and P2. This study aimed to investigate if testing antibodies against individual ribosomal protein, but not the common epitope, is required to achieve the best diagnostic benefit in SLE. Methods The study included 82 patients with SLE and 22 healthy donors. Serum antibodies were determined by ELISA and immunoblot. Results The prevalence of each antibody determined by ELISA was 35.4% (anti-Rib-P), 45.1% (anti-Rib-P0), 32.9% (anti-Rib-P1) and 40.2% (anti-Rib-P2) at 99% specificity, respectively. Of 53 patients with negative anti-Rib-P antibody, 21 (39.6%) were positive for anti-Rib-P0, 9 (17.0%) for anti-Rib-P1 and 12 (22.6%) for anti-Rib-P2 antibody. The positive rate of anti-Rib-P antibody detected by ELISA was close to the results by immunoblot (33.4%). Patients with any of these antibodies were featured by higher disease activity and prevalence of skin rashes than those with negative antibodies. Moreover, each antibody was particularly related to some clinical and laboratory disorders. The distribution of subclasses of IgG1–4 was varied with each antibody. Anti-Rib-P0 IgG1 and IgG3 were strongly correlated with disease activity and lower serum complement components 3 and 4. Conclusions Anti-Rib-P antibody is not adequate to predict the existence of antibodies against ribosomal P0, P1 and P2 protein. The examination of antibodies against each ribosomal protein is required to achieve additional diagnostic benefit and to evaluate the association with clinical and serological disorders as well.