Walkermejer3377
Bacteria belonging to Rhodococcus genus represent ideal candidates for microbial biotechnology applications because of their metabolic versatility, ability to degrade a wide range of organic compounds, and resistance to various stress conditions, such as metal toxicity, desiccation, and high concentration of organic solvents. Rhodococcus spp. strains have also peculiar biosynthetic activities that contribute to their strong persistence in harsh and contaminated environments and provide them a competitive advantage over other microorganisms. This review is focused on the metabolic features of Rhodococcus genus and their potential use in biotechnology strategies for the production of compounds with environmental, industrial, and medical relevance such as biosurfactants, bioflocculants, carotenoids, triacylglycerols, polyhydroxyalkanoate, siderophores, antimicrobials, and metal-based nanostructures. These biosynthetic capacities can also be exploited to obtain high value-added products from low-cost substrates (industrial wastes and contaminants), offering the possibility to efficiently recover valuable resources and providing possible waste disposal solutions. Rhodococcus spp. strains have also recently been pointed out as a source of novel bioactive molecules highlighting the need to extend the knowledge on biosynthetic capacities of members of this genus and their potential utilization in the framework of bioeconomy. KEY POINTS • Rhodococcus possesses promising biosynthetic and bioconversion capacities. • Rhodococcus bioconversion capacities can provide waste disposal solutions. • Rhodococcus bioproducts have environmental, industrial, and medical relevance. Graphical abstract.Over the past decade, the Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) has revolutionized the manner in which prostate cancer is screened for, detected, biopsied, and managed. The single greatest contribution of PI-RADS has been the standardization of interpretation and reporting of findings on MRI of the prostate. This standardization has led to the wide acceptance of the PI-RADS lexicon at a time when structured reporting templates are becoming more widespread in radiology and other medical fields. The author reviews the benefits of structured reporting templates with a focus on prostate MRI, prior studies on this topic, and details of a suggested template.
To compare the diagnostic performance of PI-RADS version 2.1 (PI-RADS v2.1) and PI-RADS v2 for transition zone prostate cancer (TZPC), and analyse its performance for readers with different experience levels.
Eighty-five patients with suspected prostate cancer who underwent biopsy after MRI scan between January and December 2017 were retrospectively enrolled. One junior radiologist (reader 1, 1year of experience in using PI-RADS v2) and one senior radiologist (reader 2, 6years of experience) independently reviewed and assigned a score for each lesion according to PI-RADS v2.1 and v2. The template-guided transperineal prostate biopsy was used for standard of reference. To compare the diagnostic performance of the two methods, the AUC was calculated. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were calculated at predefined positive values (PI-RADS ≥ 3). The interreader agreement and frequency of prostate cancer for each PI-RADS category were also calculated.
Among the 85 patients, 27 had prostate cancers, and 25 were clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa). The AUC values for diagnosing clinically significant prostate cancer significantly increased with PI-RADS v2.1 for reader 2 (0.766 vs. 0.902, P = 0.009). The specificity and accuracy for both readers also increased with PI-RADS v2.1 (specificity reader 1, 41.7% vs. 78.3% and reader 2, 33.3% vs. 81.7%; accuracy reader 1, 52.9% vs. 76.5% and reader 2, 48.2% vs. 83.5%, all P < 0.05). The interreader agreement was good for both versions. The percentage of prostate cancer decreased in lower PI-RADS categories (PI-RADS 2) and increased in higher PI-RADS categories (PI-RADS 3 ~ 4).
Compared with PI-RADS v2, PI-RADS v2.1 may improve radiologists' diagnostic performance for TZPC.
Compared with PI-RADS v2, PI-RADS v2.1 may improve radiologists' diagnostic performance for TZPC.
To investigate the added value of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI in monitoring liver function and disease progression in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).
We retrospectively identified 104 consecutive patients (75 males; mean age 41.98 ± 12.5years) with confirmed diagnosis of PSC who underwent 227 gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI examinations between January 2008 and May 2019. Relative enhancement (RE) of the liver was correlated with the results of liver function tests (LFTs), scoring models (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, Mayo Risk Score (MRS), Amsterdam-Oxford model (AOM)), and qualitative MRI findings. find more In addition, results were analyzed separately for excretory MRI examinations (n = 164) and nonexcretory examinations (n = 63) depending on excretion of gadoxetic acid into the common bile duct in the hepatobiliary phase (HBP).
There was a significant correlation of RE with MRS (r = - 0.652), MELD score (r = - 0.474), AOM (r = - 0.468), and LFTs (P < 0.001). RE and albuminproducible qualitative parameter for evaluating disease severity that can be easily integrated into routine clinical practice.
Non-invasive imaging techniques (especially single-photon emission tomography and positron emission tomography) apply several RGD-based imaging ligands developed during a vast number of preclinical and clinical investigations. The RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp) sequence is a binding moiety for a large selection of adhesive extracellular matrix and cell surface proteins. Since the first identification of this sequence as the shortest sequence required for recognition in fibronectin during the 1980s, fundamental research regarding the molecular mechanisms of integrin action have paved the way for development of several pharmaceuticals and radiopharmaceuticals with clinical applications. Ligands recognizing RGD may be developed for use in the monitoring of these interactions (benign or pathological). Although RGD-based molecular imaging has been actively investigated for oncological purposes, their utilization towards non-oncology applications remains relatively under-exploited.
This review highlights the new non-oncologic applications of RGD-based tracers (with the focus on single-photon emission tomography and positron emission tomography).