Background and study aims Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted image classification has been shown to have high accuracy on endoscopic diagnosis. We evaluated the potential effects of use of an AI-assisted image classifier on training of junior endoscopists for histological prediction of gastric lesions. Methods An AI image classifier was built on a convolutional neural network with five convolutional layers and three fully connected layers A Resnet backbone was trained by 2,000 non-magnified endoscopic gastric images. The independent validation set consisted of another 1,000 endoscopic images from 100 gastric lesions. The first part of the validation set was reviewed by six junior endoscopists and the prediction of AI was then disclosed to three of them (Group A) while the remaining three (Group B) were not provided this information. All endoscopists reviewed the second part of the validation set independently. Results The overall accuracy of AI was 91.0 % (95 % CI: 89.2–92.7 %) with 97.1 % sensitivity (95 % CI: 95.6–98.7%), 85.9 % specificity (95 % CI: 83.0–88.4 %) and 0.91 area under the ROC (AUROC) (95 % CI: 0.89–0.93). AI was superior to all junior endoscopists in accuracy and AUROC in both validation sets. The performance of Group A endoscopists but not Group B endoscopists improved on the second validation set (accuracy 69.3 % to 74.7 %; P = 0.003). Conclusion The trained AI image classifier can accurately predict presence of neoplastic component of gastric lesions. Feedback from the AI image classifier can also hasten the learning curve of junior endoscopists in predicting histology of gastric lesions.

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Fe3O4/poly(l‐glutamic acid) (P‐l‐Glu) magnetic microspheres were synthesized in an l‐glutamic acid solution by coprecipitation and a dehydration condensation reaction and were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and ζ‐potential measurement. P‐l‐Glu was coated on the surface of Fe3O4 microspheres. The average particle diameter of Fe3O4/P‐l‐Glu was 388 nm and dispersed homogeneously in water. The adsorption of Cu(II) ions on Fe3O4/P‐l‐Glu was further studied. The effect of different pH values and reaction times on the adsorption of Fe3O4/P‐l‐Glu was discussed. The adsorption equilibrium was reached in 40 min, and the maximum adsorption for Cu(II) ions was more than 500 mg/g; this value occurred at pH 8 in water. The adsorption dynamic process fit the Freundlich isotherms well, and the adsorption kinetics followed the adsorption mechanism of the pseudo‐second‐order equation, which was the main complexation reaction. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43730.

Carthami flos, commonly known as Honghua in China, is the dried floret of safflower and widely acknowledged as a blood stasis promoting herb. The study aimed at investigating the relationship between thrombin and carthami flos through a high‐performance thrombin affinity chromatography combined with a high‐performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry system. First, thrombin was immobilized on the glutaraldehyde‐modified amino silica gel to prepare the thrombin affinity stationary phase, which was packed into a small column (1.0 × 2.0 mm, id) for recognizing the anticoagulant active components of carthami flos. The target component was enriched and analyzed by the high‐performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry system. Finally, hydroxysafflor yellow A was screened out and identified as the active component. The anticoagulant effects of hydroxysafflor yellow A were analyzed by anticoagulant experiments in vitro, and the interaction of hydroxysafflor yellow A with thrombin was investigated by the molecular docking method. The results proved that hydroxysafflor yellow A (30 μg/mL, 0.05 mM) and carthami flos extract (30 μg/mL) could prolong activated partial thrombin time and thrombin time by 50 and 11%, respectively. Moreover, hydroxysafflor yellow A exhibits a good hydrogen bond field and stereo field matching with thrombin. Overall, it was concluded that hydroxysafflor yellow A might exert an anticoagulation effect by interacting with thrombin and thus could be potential anticoagulant drugs for the prevention and treatment of venous thrombosis.

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