Leveraging Phase Information of 3D Isotropic Ultrashort Echo Time Pulmonary MRI for the Detection of Thoracic Lymphadenopathy: Toward an All-in-One Scan Solution.

Background: Ultrashort echo time (UTE) allows imaging of tissues with short relaxation times, but it comes with the expense of long scan times. Magnitude images of UTE magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are widely used in pulmonary imaging due to excellent parenchymal signal, but have insufficient contrast for other anatomical regions of the thorax. Our work investigates the value of UTE phase images (UTE-Ps)-generated simultaneously from the acquired UTE signal used for the magnitude images-for the detection of thoracic lymph nodes based on water-fat contrast.

Magnetic Resonance Assessment of Bone Quality in Metabolic Bone Diseases.

Metabolic bone diseases (MBDs) are a diverse group of diseases, affecting the mass or structure of bones and leading to reduced bone quality. Parameters representing different aspects of bone health can be obtained from various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods such as proton MR spectroscopy, as well as chemical shift encoding-based water-fat imaging, that have been frequently applied to study bone marrow in particular. Furthermore, T2* mapping and high-resolution trabecular bone imaging have been implemented to study bone microstructure.

Partial Fourier in the presence of respiratory motion in prostate diffusion-weighted echo planar imaging.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of respiratory motion in terms of signal loss in prostate diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and to evaluate the usage of partial Fourier in a free-breathing protocol in a clinically relevant b-value range using both single-shot and multi-shot acquisitions.

Methods: A controlled breathing DWI acquisition was first employed at 3 T to measure signal loss from deep breathing patterns. Single-shot and multi-shot (2-shot) acquisitions without partial Fourier (no pF) and with partial Fourier (pF) factors of 0.

Motion-induced phase-corrected homodyne reconstruction for partial Fourier single-shot diffusion-weighted echo planar imaging of the liver.

Partial Fourier encoding is popular in single-shot (ss) diffusion-weighted (DW) echo planar imaging (EPI) because it enables a shorter echo time (TE) and, hence, improves the signal-to-noise-ratio. Motion during diffusion encoding causes k-space shifting and dispersion, which compromises the quality of the homodyne reconstruction. This work provides a comprehensive understanding of the artifacts in homodyne reconstruction of partial Fourier ss-DW-EPI data in the presence of motion-induced phase and proposes the motion-induced phase-corrected homodyne (mpc-hdyne) reconstruction method to ameliorate these artifacts.

Retrospective Motion Artifact Reduction by Spatial Scaling of Liver Diffusion-Weighted Images.

Cardiac motion causes unpredictable signal loss in respiratory-triggered diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) of the liver, especially inside the left lobe. The left liver lobe may thus be frequently neglected in the clinical evaluation of liver DWI. In this work, a data-driven algorithm that relies on the statistics of the signal in the left liver lobe to mitigate the motion-induced signal loss is presented.

Motion compensated renal diffusion weighted imaging.

Purpose: To assess the effect of respiratory motion and cardiac driven pulsation in renal DWI and to examine asymmetrical velocity-compensated diffusion encoding waveforms for robust ADC mapping in the kidneys.

Methods: The standard monopolar Stejskal-Tanner pulsed gradient spin echo (pgse) and the asymmetric bipolar velocity-compensated (asym-vc) diffusion encoding waveforms were used for coronal renal DWI at 3T. The robustness of the ADC quantification in the kidneys was tested with the aforementioned waveforms in respiratory-triggered and breath-held cardiac-triggered scans at different trigger delays in 10 healthy subjects.

Clinical, Laboratory Characteristic, and Treatment of Human Toxocariasis in Northern Vietnam.

Background: We determined the occurrence frequency of Clinical signs, subclinical characteristics on positive anti-IgG ELISA cases, and clinical response results after 1 month of albendazole-specific treatment.

Methods: A number of 103 clinically treated patients were studied between 2018 and 2019 in two hospitals. Relevant data are collected from examination and medical records such as age, sex, job, resident, clinical and sub-clinical signs.

High-Resolution, High b-Value Computed Diffusion-Weighted Imaging Improves Detection of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Background: Our purpose was to investigate the potential of high-resolution, high b-value computed DWI (cDWI) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) detection.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 44 patients with confirmed PDAC. Respiratory-triggered, diffusion-weighted, single-shot echo-planar imaging (ss-EPI) with both conventional (i.

Gradient nonlinearity correction in liver DWI using motion-compensated diffusion encoding waveforms.

Unlabelled: OBJECTIVE : To experimentally characterize the effectiveness of a gradient nonlinearity correction method in removing ADC bias for different motion-compensated diffusion encoding waveforms.

Methods: The diffusion encoding waveforms used were the standard monopolar Stejskal-Tanner pulsed gradient spin echo (pgse) waveform, the symmetric bipolar velocity-compensated waveform (sym-vc), the asymmetric bipolar velocity-compensated waveform (asym-vc) and the asymmetric bipolar partial velocity-compensated waveform (asym-pvc). The effectiveness of the gradient nonlinearity correction method using the spherical harmonic expansion of the gradient coil field was tested with the aforementioned waveforms in a phantom and in four healthy subjects.

Noise reduction in diffusion weighted MRI of the pancreas using an L1-regularized iterative SENSE reconstruction.

Objectives: To prospectively evaluate an L1 regularized iterative SENSE reconstruction (L1-R SENSE) to eliminate band-like artifacts frequently seen with parallel imaging (SENSE) at high acceleration factors in high resolution diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the pancreas.

Methods: Fourteen patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) underwent respiratory triggered DWI ss-EPI at a resolution of 2.5 × 2.

The Ecophysiological Performance and Traits of Genera within the -like Clade (Trebouxiophyceae) under Matric and Osmotic Stress.

Changes in water balance are some of the most critical challenges that aeroterrestrial algae face. They have a wide variety of mechanisms to protect against osmotic stress, including, but not limited to, downregulating photosynthesis, the production of compatible solutes, spore and akinete formation, biofilms, as well as triggering structural cellular changes. In comparison, algae living in saline environments must cope with ionic stress, which has similar effects on the physiology as desiccation in addition to sodium and chloride ion toxicity.

Energy crop as an environmentally sustainable reclamation option for post-mining sites: a life cycle assessment of cassava planting in Vietnam.

Using post-mining areas for planting energy crops has emerged as a promising and sustainable reclamation solution due to its potential contributions to environmental protection, land restoration, and especially energy security. However, to ensure the sustainability of this reclamation solution, its environmental performance needs to be thoroughly assessed case by case. Located in Ha Thuong Commune, Dai Tu District, Thai Nguyen Province in northern Vietnam, Nui Phao is the world's largest tungsten mine.

Lipid droplet-size mapping in human adipose tissue using a clinical 3T system.

Purpose: To develop a methodology for probing lipid droplet sizes with a clinical system based on a diffusion-weighted stimulated echo-prepared turbo spin-echo sequence and to validate the methodology in water-fat emulsions and show its applicability in ex vivo adipose-tissue samples.

Methods: A diffusion-weighted stimulated echo-prepared preparation was combined with a single-shot turbo spin-echo readout for measurements at different b-values and diffusion times. The droplet size was estimated with an analytical expression, and three fitting approaches were compared: magnitude-based spatial averaging with voxel-wise residual minimization, complex-based spatial averaging with voxel-wise residual minimization, and complex-based spatial averaging with neighborhood-regularized residual minimization.

Qualitative and Quantitative Comparison of Respiratory Triggered Reduced Field-of-View (FOV) Versus Full FOV Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) in Pancreatic Pathologies.

Rationale And Objectives: To investigate the effects of a reduced field-of-view (rFOV) acquisition in diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the pancreas.

Materials And Methods: We enrolled 153 patients who underwent routine clinical MRI work-up including respiratory-triggered diffusion-weighted single-shot echo-planar imaging (DWI) with full field-of-view (fFOV, 3 × 3 × 4 mm voxel size) and reduced field-of-view (rFOV, 2.5 × 2.

Evaluation of Urinary Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin and Kidney Injury Molecule-1 as Diagnostic Markers for Early Nephropathy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was evaluating the early diagnostic value of two specific tubular markers neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) in diabetes nephropathy.

Patients And Methods: Cross-sectional study was carried in three groups of patients from 10/2017 to 10/2018 in Military Hospital 103. Group I included 30 healthy peoples with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) >60 mL/min/1.

The combination of tamoxifen with amphotericin B, but not with fluconazole, has synergistic activity against the majority of clinical isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans.

Background: Cryptococcal meningitis has fatality rates of 40%-70%, resulting in 200 000 deaths each year. The best outcomes are achieved with amphotericin combined with flucytosine but flucytosine is expensive and unavailable where most disease occurs. More effective and affordable treatments are needed.

Efficacy and Safety of Methotrexate in Combination with Mini Pulse Doses of Methylprednisolone in Severe Alopecia Areata. The Vietnamese Experience.

Background: Treatment of severe alopecia areata remains very difficult, especially in alopecia areata totalis and alopecia areata universalis. Methotrexate is known to be effective in the treatment of severe and chronic autoimmune disorders.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness and safety of MTX in combination with mini pulse dose of methylprednisolone in the treatment of severe alopecia areata.

Improving Treatment Outcome of Pemphigus Vulgaris on Vietnamese Patients by Using Desmoglein Elisa Test.

Background: Pemphigus Vulgaris (PV) is a chronic disease, is characterized by the presence of flacid bullous in skin and mucosa. There are 2 main autoantibodies against desmoglein3 (Dsg3) and desmoglein1 (Dsg1).

Aim: The aims of this study were to evaluate the before and after treatment outcome with corticosteroid, using Desmoglein ELISA test.

Isotropic resolution diffusion tensor imaging of lumbosacral and sciatic nerves using a phase-corrected diffusion-prepared 3D turbo spin echo.

Purpose: To perform in vivo isotropic-resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of lumbosacral and sciatic nerves with a phase-navigated diffusion-prepared (DP) 3D turbo spin echo (TSE) acquisition and modified reconstruction incorporating intershot phase-error correction and to investigate the improvement on image quality and diffusion quantification with the proposed phase correction.

Methods: Phase-navigated DP 3D TSE included magnitude stabilizers to minimize motion and eddy-current effects on the signal magnitude. Phase navigation of motion-induced phase errors was introduced before readout in 3D TSE.

Comparative genomics of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii associated with meningitis in HIV infected and uninfected patients in Vietnam.

The vast burden of cryptococcal meningitis occurs in immunosuppressed patients, driven by HIV, and is caused by Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii. We previously reported cryptococcal meningitis in Vietnam arising atypically in HIV uninfected, apparently immunocompetent patients, caused by a single amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) cluster of C.

Analysis of phase error effects in multishot diffusion-prepared turbo spin echo imaging.

Background: To characterize the effect of phase errors on the magnitude and the phase of the diffusion-weighted (DW) signal acquired with diffusion-prepared turbo spin echo (dprep-TSE) sequences.

Methods: Motion and eddy currents were identified as the main sources of phase errors. An analytical expression for the effect of phase errors on the acquired signal was derived and verified using Bloch simulations, phantom, and experiments.

Dopamine transporter imaging in essential tremor with and without parkinsonian features.

Mild parkinsonian features can be observed in patients with essential tremor (ET). Although dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging is usually normal in ET, some studies found mild dopaminergic deficit in ET patients compared to healthy controls (HC). We analyzed clinical and DAT imaging data in ET patients with and without parkinsonian features.

Real-time correction of rigid body motion-induced phase errors for diffusion-weighted steady-state free precession imaging.

Purpose: Diffusion contrast in diffusion-weighted steady-state free precession magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is generated through the constructive addition of signal from many coherence pathways. Motion-induced phase causes destructive interference which results in loss of signal magnitude and diffusion contrast. In this work, a three-dimensional (3D) navigator-based real-time correction of the rigid body motion-induced phase errors is developed for diffusion-weighted steady-state free precession MRI.

Slab profile encoding (PEN) for minimizing slab boundary artifact in three-dimensional diffusion-weighted multislab acquisition.

Purpose: To propose a method for mitigating slab boundary artifacts in three-dimensional (3D) multislab diffusion imaging with no or minimal increases in scan time.

Methods: The multislab acquisition was treated as parallel imaging acquisition where the slab profiles acted as the traditional receiver sensitivity profiles. All the slabs were then reconstructed simultaneously along the slab direction using Cartesian-based sensitivity encoding (SENSE) reconstruction.