Clinical application of rapid B-line score with lung ultrasonography in differentiating between pulmonary infection and pulmonary infection with acute left ventricular heart failure.

Background: We have found that there are usually 2 causes of acute dyspnea in our emergency department: (1) pulmonary infection only and (2) pulmonary infection in the setting of acute left ventricular heart failure (LVHF). These conditions are sometimes difficult to differentiate. Lung ultrasonography (LUS) is easily performed at the bedside and provides accurate information for diagnosis.

Difference in biological characteristics and sensitivity to chemotherapy and radiotherapy between intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma cells in vitro.

Objective: To investigate and compare the biological characteristics and sensitivity to chemotherapy and radiotherapy of intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma cells in vitro.

Methods: The intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma cell lines were established, and cells with steady passage were chosen to study the biological characteristics including morphology, growth dynamics, chromosome, and levels of cancer antigen (CA) 125, CA19-9, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA). Meanwhile, MTT assay was used to determine the sensitivity of both kinds of cells to 6 chemotherapeutic drugs, including cisplatin, paclitaxel, harringtonine, 5-fluorouracil, vincristine, and aclacimomycin, and the inhibitory rate of cells under the irradiation of 10 Gy ray was also measured.