Cardiomyocyte myofilament function in common animal models of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Human cardiomyocytes from very obese patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) have markedly depressed calcium-activated tension and increased resting stiffness. To test if either are recapitulated by obese-HFpEF animal models, tension‑calcium and tension-sarcomere length relations were measured in myocytes from mice on a high fat diet (HFD) with L-NAME, ZSF1 rats, and Göttingen minipigs on HFD + DOCA (MP). Only MP myocytes displayed reduced Ca-activated tension, and none exhibited increased resting stiffness versus respective controls.

Preliminary protocol for measuring the reproducibility and accuracy of flow values on digital PET/CT systems in [O]HO myocardial perfusion imaging using a flow phantom.

Background: Several factors may decrease the accuracy of quantitative PET myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). It is therefore essential to ensure that myocardial blood flow (MBF) values are reproducible and accurate, and to design systematic protocols to achieve this. Until now, no systematic phantom protocols have been available to assess the technical factors affecting measurement accuracy and reproducibility in MPI.

Is the excretory phase necessary to identify upper tract urothelial neoplasms at CT urography? A 10-year population-based study.

Purpose: To assess the proportion of upper tract urothelial carcinomas (UTUC) that are evident without the excretory phase at CT urography (CTU), and the proportion of potentially avoidable radiation.

Methods: UTUCs diagnosed between January 2008-December 2017 were retrospectively identified from a population-based cancer registry. For each patient, US, non-urographic CT, and MRI exams were assessed for a primary mass and secondary imaging findings (hydronephrosis, urinary tract thickening, luminal distention, fat stranding, and lymphadenopathy/metastatic disease).

Resection of colorectal carcinoma liver metastases: A population-based study in outcomes and factors associated with recurrent disease.

Objective: To assess the hepatic disease-free survival (HDFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients who underwent resection of colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRCLM) in our population, and evaluate what factors are associated with these outcomes.

Methods: Patients with resected non-mucinous CRCLM between January 2013-February 2020 were retrospectively identified. Dates of diagnosis, surgery, and, if applicable, death were recorded.

A 17-month longitudinal surface sampling study carried out on public transport vehicles operating in England during the COVID-19 pandemic identified low levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA contamination.

Aims: To monitor severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA contamination in vehicles operating in England during the pandemic, to better understand transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 on public transport.

Methods And Results: We collected 1314 surface samples between December 2020 and April 2022 on trains and buses managed by five different transport operators. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was investigated through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).