Quantification of intranodal vascularity by computer pixel-counting method enhances the accuracy of ultrasound in distinguishing metastatic and tuberculous cervical lymph nodes.

Background: Ultrasound is a common imaging method for assessment of cervical lymph nodes. However, metastatic and tuberculous lymph nodes have similar sonographic features in routine ultrasound examination. Computer-aided assessment could be a potential adjunct to enhance the accuracy of differential diagnosis.

terahertz imaging to evaluate scar treatment strategies: silicone gel sheeting.

Silicone gel sheeting (SGS) is widely used for scar treatment; however, studies showing its interaction with skin and efficacy of scar treatment are still lacking. THz light is non-ionizing and highly sensitive to changes in water content and thus skin hydration. In this work, we use THz imaging to monitor how SGS affects the THz response of human skin during occlusion, and the associated THz reflectivity and refractive index changes are presented.

THz measurements: the effects of pressure on skin reflectivity.

Terahertz (THz) light is non-ionizing and highly sensitive to subtle changes in water concentration which can be indicative of disease. The short THz penetration depth in bio-samples restricts measurements to be in a reflection geometry and the sample is often placed onto an imaging window. Upon contacting the imaging window, occlusion and compression of the skin affect the THz response.

Distinguishing early-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma from benign hyperplasia using intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted MRI.

Objectives: MRI can detect early-stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but the detection is more challenging in early-stage NPCs because they must be distinguished from benign hyperplasia in the nasopharynx. This study aimed to determine whether intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM DWI) MRI could distinguish between these two entities.

Methods: Thirty-four subjects with early-stage NPC and 30 subjects with benign hyperplasia prospectively underwent IVIM DWI.

Extranodal extension is a criterion for poor outcome in patients with metastatic nodes from cancer of the nasopharynx.

Purpose: Extranodal extension (ENE) is a criterion for advanced nodal staging of oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Our aim was to determine if ENE should be a staging criterion for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Materials & Methods: MRI of 546 NPC patients were reviewed retrospectively and in 404/546 (74.

Amide proton transfer MRI detects early changes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: providing a potential imaging marker for treatment response.

Purpose: To determine if treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) induces early changes in amide proton transfer-weighted (APTw) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and to perform a preliminary evaluation of APTw imaging in response assessment.

Methods: Sixteen patients with NPC planned for treatment with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy underwent APTw imaging of the primary tumour pre-treatment and 2-week intra-treatment. Difference in pre- and intra-treatment APT mean (APT) was compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test.

Analysis of Plasma Epstein-Barr Virus DNA in Nasopharyngeal Cancer After Chemoradiation to Identify High-Risk Patients for Adjuvant Chemotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose The contribution of adjuvant chemotherapy after chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) remains controversial. Plasma Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA is a potential biomarker of subclinical residual disease in NPC. In this prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial, we used plasma EBV DNA to identify patients with NPC at a higher risk of relapse for adjuvant chemotherapy.

In vivo estimation of water diffusivity in occluded human skin using terahertz reflection spectroscopy.

Water diffusion and the concentration profile within the skin significantly affect the surrounding chemical absorption and molecular synthesis. Occluding the skin causes water to accumulate in the top layer of the skin (the stratum corneum [SC]) and also affects the water diffusivity. Scar treatments such as silicone gel and silicone sheets make use of occlusion to increase skin hydration.

Head and Neck Tumors: Amide Proton Transfer MRI.

Purpose To evaluate the utility of amide proton transfer (APT) imaging in the characterization of head and neck tumors. Materials and Methods This retrospective study of APT imaging included 117 patients with 70 nasopharyngeal undifferentiated carcinomas (NUCs), 26 squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), eight non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs), and 13 benign salivary gland tumors (BSGTs). Normal tissues were examined in 25 patients.

Sonographic assessment of swallowing in irradiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.

Objectives/hypothesis: Ultrasonography is an emerging clinical tool to study the dysfunction of swallowing muscles. This was the first sonographic study to assess the relationship between suprahyoid muscle contraction, hyoid bone displacement, and penetration-aspiration status (PAS) during swallowing in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients treated with radiotherapy (RT). The study also aimed to establish reliability data for the sonographic technique described.

Efficacy, Safety, and Pharmacokinetics of Axitinib in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: A Preclinical and Phase II Correlative Study.

We hypothesized that axitinib is active with an improved safety profile in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). We evaluated axitinib in preclinical models of NPC and studied its efficacy in a phase II clinical trial in recurrent or metastatic NPC patients who progressed after at least one line of prior platinum-based chemotherapy. We excluded patients with local recurrence or vascular invasion.

Early Exclusion of Major Adverse Cardiac Events in Emergency Department Chest Pain Patients: A Prospective Observational Study.

Background: The current evaluation of patients with chest pain presenting to an emergency department (ED) with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a lengthy process involving serial measurements of troponin.

Objective: We aimed to validate the diagnostic accuracy of a Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score with single high-sensitive cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) for early rule out of 30-day major adverse cardiac events (MACE), and to compare the TIMI score with combinations of heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) and a modified HEART (history, electrocardiogram, age, risk factors, troponin) score.

Methods: We recruited 602 consecutive adult patients with chest pain and suspected ACS in the ED.

Phase I/II randomized controlled trial of autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy for chronic stroke.

Aim: To examine the safety and efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy for intracerebral haemorrhage with neurological dysfunctions for a year.

Methods: MSC were expanded from 29 mL (17-42 mL) autologous bone marrow. Patients were randomized to have two intravenous injections of autologous MSC or placebos in four weeks apart.

Acute diffuse thyroid swelling: A rare complication of fine-needle aspiration.

We present a case illustrating the rare complication of acute generalized thyroid swelling shortly after sonographic-guided fine needle aspiration of a thyroid nodule. Ultrasound revealed the presence of characteristic linear hypoechoic avascular areas interspersed throughout the gland suggestive of edema. The patient was treated conservatively, with near complete normalization of the thyroid within 24 hours.

Studies on alterations of clinical and hemato-biochemical parameters before and after treatment in calves naturally infected with theileriosis.

Aim: The aim was to determine hemato-biochemical alterations and to determine the better treatment of theileriosis in naturally infected calves.

Materials And Methods: A total of 74 Holstein crossbred calves below 6 months of age, of either sex were included for present investigation in Bikaner. Based on the clinical examinations and laboratory results, 20 calves included for hemato-biochemical studies (before and after treatment) and divided into two groups (having 10 calves each).

Freeze-thaw hysteresis effects in terahertz imaging of biomedical tissues.

There have recently been several studies published involving terahertz (THz) imaging of frozen biomedical samples. In this paper, we investigate the effects of the freeze-thaw cycle on THz properties of porcine muscle and fat samples. For ordinary freezing, there was a significant change in the THz properties after thawing for muscle tissue but not for fat tissue.

Efficacy of 18F-FDG PET/CT in investigation of elevated CEA without known primary malignancy.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of flurodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computer tomography (F-FDG PET/CT) in investigating patients with elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and without known primary malignancy, and the impact of PET/CT findings on patient management.

Setting And Design: PET/CT scans done in a tertiary hospital between December 2007 and February 2012 for elevated CEA in patients without known primary malignancy were retrospectively reviewed.

Materials And Methods: The PET/CT findings, patients' clinical information, level of CEA, histological diagnosis, and subsequent management were retrieved by the electronic patient record for analysis.

Diffusion-weighted imaging of nasopharyngeal carcinoma to predict distant metastases.

Our study aimed to identify diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) parameters obtained from primary nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) at initial presentation, that can predict patients at risk of distant metastases. One hundred and sixty-four patients underwent pretreatment magnetic resonance imaging and DWI. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), ADC, and ADC were obtained by histogram analysis.

Location of Acute Infarcts and Agitation and Aggression in Stroke.

The role of the infarct location in the development of poststroke agitation (PSA) is largely unknown. This study examined the association between the locations of infarcts and PSA at 9 months following the index stroke in 213 patients with the Chinese version of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Compared with the non-PSA group, PSA patients had a higher number and volume of acute pontine infarcts.

A higher aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage incidence in women prior to menopause: a retrospective analysis of 4,895 cases from eight hospitals in China.

Background: Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm is a devastating disease. Despite the risk factors, including hypertension, cigarette smoking and alcohol use, are more common in men, aneurysmal SAH belongs to a few diseases which the incidence is higher in women than in men. Sex hormones, especially estrogen, might be protective against this condition.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Computer-Aided Assessment of Intranodal Vascularity in Distinguishing Different Causes of Cervical Lymphadenopathy.

Ultrasound is useful in assessing cervical lymphadenopathy. Advancement of computer science technology allows accurate and reliable assessment of medical images. The aim of the study described here was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of computer-aided assessment of the intranodal vascularity index (VI) in differentiating the various common causes of cervical lymphadenopathy.

Feasibility Study of Texture Analysis Using Ultrasound Shear Wave Elastography to Predict Malignancy in Thyroid Nodules.

Textural analysis of ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) was evaluated to discriminate benign and malignant thyroid nodules. Sixteen papillary thyroid cancers and 89 benign hyperplastic nodules in 105 patients underwent SWE using four static pre-compression levels. Fifteen gray level co-occurrence matrix textural features and six absolute SWE indices were computed from SWE images.

Sonography of diffuse thyroid disease.

Introduction/purpose: This article aims to review of the common diffuse thyroid disease.

Methods: Thorough literature search and review was performed for each diffuse thyroid disease. The most recent and updated ultrasound images were obtained.

Lumbar Spondylolisthesis Progression and De Novo Spondylolisthesis in Elderly Chinese Men and Women: A Year-4 Follow-up Study.

Study Design: Longitudinal follow-up study.

Objective: This current study aimed to further assess progression, incidence, and risk factors of lumbar spondylolisthesis in these subjects at 4-year follow-up.

Summary Of Background Data: A survey for osteoporotic fractures in Hong Kong during 2001 to 2003 represented the first large scale prospective population-based study on bone health in elderly (≥65 years) Chinese men and women.

Improvement in the Detection of Cystic Metastatic Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma by Measurement of Thyroglobulin in Aspirated Fluid.

Cystic change in metastatic lymph nodes of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a diagnostic challenge for fine needle aspiration (FNA) because of the scant cellularity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the measurement of thyroglobulin in fine needle aspirate (Tg-FNA) for detecting metastatic PTC in patients with cystic neck lesions and to validate the optimal cutoff value of Tg-FNA. A total of 75 FNA specimens of cystic lesions were identified, including 40 of metastatic PTC.