We developed an inexpensive and widely available DIA technique for fibrosis quantification in hepatitis C, and here, we evaluate its reproducibility and correlation

with semiquantitative scores, and determine the fibrosis percentage associated with septal fibrosis and cirrhosis. 282 needle biopsies staged by Ishak and METAVIR scores were included. Images of trichrome-stained sections were captured and processed using Adobe((R)) Photoshop((R)) CS3 and Adobe((R)) Bridge((R)) softwares. The percentage of fibrosis (fibrosis index) was determined by the ratio between the fibrosis area and NSC23766 price the total sample area, expressed in pixels calculated in an automated way. An excellent correlation between DIA fibrosis index and Ishak and METAVIR scores was observed (Spearman’s r=0.95 and 0.92; P smaller than 0.001, respectively). Excellent intra-observer reproducibility was observed in a randomly chosen subset of 39 biopsies with an intraclass correlation Autophagy inhibition index of 0.99 (95% CI, 0.95-0.99). The best cut-offs associated with septal fibrosis and cirrhosis were

6% (AUROC 0.97, 95% CI, 0.95-0.99) and 27% (AUROC 1.0, 95% CI, 0.99-1), respectively. This new DIA technique had high correlation with semiquantitative scores in hepatitis C. This method is reproducible, inexpensive and available worldwide allowing its use in clinical practice. The incorporation of DIA technique provides a more complete evaluation of fibrosis adding the quantification to architectural patterns.”
“Introduction: Neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a novel predictor of acute kidney

injury (AKI), which increases with inflammation. We aimed to assess whether serum NGAL (SNGAL) and urine NGAL (UNGAL) can predict AKI in burned-children. Methods: Patients were referred within the 12 h of burn to our center. Serum samples for SNGAL, C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and urine for UNGAL, microalbumine (Umalb), creatinine (Ucr) were obtained at both admission and the 5th day after burn. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Scr) were examined daily. Results: Twenty-two subjects were enrolled and six (27.2%) Selleck XMU-MP-1 of them developed AKI within the 48 h of injury. Burn size and abbreviated burn severity index (ABSI) were significantly increased in patients with AKI. CRP, PCT, SNGAL and UNGAL levels at admission and day 5 were significantly higher in patients with AKI than in those without AKI and controls. Scr was not significant between AKI and non-AKI groups at hospital days land 5. A SNGAL level of 315 ng/ml and a UNGAL level of 100 ng/ml were determined as predictive cut-off values of AKI at admission (sensitivity and specificity: 71.4%, 83.3% and 93.3%, 93.7%, respectively). SNGAL and UNGAL were positively correlated with CRP, PCT, ABSI and Umalb/Ucr. Conclusion: SNGAL and UNGAL are good early predictors of AKI in children with severe burn.