No abstract

Sputum smears and culture conversion are frequently used to evaluate treatment response in pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Limited data are available on the evaluation of the correlation between under-treatment sputum smear results and culture conversion.This prospective study included sputum culture-proven pulmonary tuberculosis patients at six hospitals in Taiwan. At least two sets of sputum were collected at the completion of 8 weeks of TB treatment. The sensitivities and specificities of 2-month sputum smears were estimated based on culture conversion status.A total of 371 patients were enrolled for analysis. Factors associated with culture conversion included having a smear positive before treatment, presence of a cavity on radiography, rifampicin resistance and usage of the DOTS (directly observed therapy, short course) strategy. The sensitivities of 2-month sputum smears for culture conversion among all patients, initially smear-positive patients and initially smear-negative patients were 64.3, 71.4 and 38%, respectively, and the specificities were 81.6, 69.9 and 92.8%, respectively. In patients who were 2-month sputum smear-positive, the 2-month culture conversion rate was 80% if the patients were under DOTS and without cavitary lesions in radiograms.The predictive value of 2-month sputum smears in culture conversion was limited and highly influenced by clinical factors in pulmonary tuberculosis patients.KEYWORDS: Culture, directly observed therapy short course implementation, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, pulmonary tuberculosis, sputum P ulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is an airborne infectious disease that requires multiple-drug combination therapy and long treatment duration. Despite great advances in molecular diagnosis, sputum cultures of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) remain the gold standard for PTB diagnosis. After initiation of anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) treatment, sputum acidfast bacilli (AFB) smears and cultures of MTB are regularly checked during the treatment period and serve as important indicators of treatment response. Achievement of sputum sterilisation, which is determined by sputum culture conversion, is a cardinal index of treatment success. Previous studies have demonstrated that the time to sputum negativity is an important determinant of relapse [1][2][3]. Failure to achieve sputum culture conversion in ,2 months will lead to a worse treatment outcome [4]. Documentation of sputum culture conversion is also recommended as a necessary criterion before completion of anti-TB treatment in current treatment guidelines [5]. Based on the high predictive value of sputum culture conversion in treatment response [4,6,7], identification of the clinical factors that are associated with a lower sputum culture conversion rate is of crucial importance in PTB management [8][9][10].In spite of the high accuracy of sputum culture conversion in the assessment of treatment response, the long yield time limits its usefulness in clinical practice. As a simple and rapid test, sputum smears are fre...

An ideal tumor treatment is supposed to eliminate the primary tumor and simultaneously trigger the host antitumor immune responses to prevent tumor recurrence and metastasis. Herein, a liposome encapsulating phosphoinositide 3-kinase gamma (PI3K ) inhibitor IPI-549 and photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6), denoted by LIC, is prepared for colon cancer treatment. LIC internalized into CT26 cells generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) under laser irradiation to cause immunogenic tumor cell death, during which immunostimulatory signals such as calreticulin are released to further induce T lymphocyte-mediated tumor cell killing. Meanwhile, IPI-549 transported by liposome can inhibit PI3K in the myeloid-derived suppressive cells (MDSCs), resulting in downregulation of arginase 1 (Arg-1) and ROS to promote MDSCs apoptosis and reduce their immunosuppressive activity to CD8 + T cells. LIC-mediated immunogenic photodynamic therapy synergizes with MDSCstargeting immunotherapy, which significantly inhibits tumor growth via facilitating the dendritic cell maturation and tumor infiltration of CD8 + T cells while decreasing the tumor infiltration of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells, MDSCs, and M2-like tumor-associated macrophages. Moreover, the synergistic therapy increases the number of effector memory T cells (T EM ) in spleen, which suggests a favorable immune memory to prevent tumor recurrence and metastasis. The Ce6 and IPI-549-coloaded multifunctional nanodrug demonstrates high efficacy in colon cancer treatment.

Yttrium tungstate precursors with novel 3D hierarchical architectures assembled from nanosheet building blocks were successfully synthesized by a hydrothermal method with the assistance of sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate (SDBS). After calcination, the precursors were easily converted to Y(2)(WO(4))(3) without an obvious change in morphology. The as-prepared precursors and Y(2)(WO(4))(3) were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectra, respectively. The results reveal that the morphology and dimensions of the as-prepared precursors can be effectively tuned by altering the amounts of organic SDBS and the reaction time, and the possible formation mechanism was also proposed. Upon ultraviolet (UV) excitation, the emission of Y(2)(WO(4))(3):x mol% Eu(3+) microcrystals can be tuned from white to red, and the doping concentration of Eu(3+) has been optimized. Furthermore, the up-conversion (UC) luminescence properties as well as the emission mechanisms of Y(2)(WO(4))(3):Yb(3+)/Ln(3+) (Ln = Er, Tm, Ho) microcrystals were systematically investigated, which show green (Er(3+), (4)S(3/2), (2)H(11/2)→(4)I(15/2)), blue (Tm(3+), (1)G(4)→(3)H(6)) and yellow (Ho(3+), (5)S(2)→(5)I(8)) luminescence under 980 nm NIR excitation. Moreover, the doping concentration of the Yb(3+) has been optimized under a fixed concentration of Er(3+) for the UC emission of Y(2)(WO(4))(3):Yb(3+)/Er(3+).

In the present paper, we first demonstrate a facile and rapid precipitation process to fabricate Y(OH) 3 with tailored well-defined shapes and excellent uniformity in the presence of sodium citrate. The morphologies and sizes of the products can be controlled by simply tuning the sodium citrate amounts, the reaction temperature, and the amount of NaOH. After calcination, the Y(OH) 3 precursors were easily converted to pure Y 2 O 3 with no obvious change in morphology. The phases, morphologies, sizes as well as up-conversion (UC) photoluminescence of as-prepared products were well characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectra, respectively. The UC emission properties of the prepared Y 2 O 3 :Yb 3+ /Ln 3+ (Ln ¼ Er, Tm and Ho) were investigated in detail. Under 980 nm NIR excitation, the emission intensity and the corresponding luminescent colors of Y 2 O 3 :Yb 3+ /Ln 3+ (Ln ¼ Er, Tm and Ho) could be precisely modulated by changing the doping concentration of Yb 3+ ions. Furthermore, the experimental results also reveal that the optical properties of the Y 2 O 3 :1%Yb 3+ /1%Ho 3+ phosphors with different morphologies are strongly dependent on their morphologies and sizes.