Super-resolution ultrasound imaging of ischaemia flow: An in silico study.

Super-resolution ultrasound (SRU) is a new ultrasound imaging mode that promises to facilitate the detection of microvascular disease by providing new vascular bio-markers that are directly linked to microvascular pathophysiology, thereby augmenting current knowledge and potentially enabling new treatment. Such a capability can be developed through thorough understanding as articulated by means of mathematical models. In this study, a 2D numerical flow model is adopted for generating flow adaptation in response to ischaemia, in order to determine the ability of SRU to register the resulting flow perturbations.

Multidimensional profiling of human T cells reveals high CD38 expression, marking recent thymic emigrants and age-related naive T cell remodeling.

Thymic involution is a key factor in human immune aging, leading to reduced thymic output and a decline in recent thymic emigrant (RTE) naive T cells in circulation. Currently, the precise definition of human RTEs and their corresponding cell surface markers lacks clarity. Analysis of single-cell RNA-seq/ATAC-seq data distinguished RTEs by the expression of SOX4, IKZF2, and TOX and CD38 protein, whereby surface CD38 expression universally identified CD8 and CD4 RTEs.

Decision Style Inventory Application in Parent/Guardian Vaccination Decision-Making: A Pilot Study.

Introduction: Cases of preventable diseases continue to occur globally. Much literature is present about barriers and factors that influence vaccination, but little is known about psychologically ingrained decision-making styles and their relationship with vaccination decisions.

Design/methods: This quantitative descriptive cross-sectional pilot study aimed to explore using an established tool, the Decision Style Inventory (Rowe & Mason, 1987), in parents/guardians of children 2 months to 20 years old.

Vessel recovery using ultrasound localisation microscopy: An in silico comparative study between minimum variance and delay-and-sum beamformers.

The use of particle localisation and tracking algorithms on Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) or other ultrasound mode image data containing sparse microbubble (MB) populations, can produce super-resolved vascularization maps. Typically such data stem from conventional delay and sum (DAS) beamforming that is used widely in ultrasound imaging modes. Recently, adaptive beamforming has shown significant improvement in spatial resolution, but its value to super-resolution image analysis approaches is not fully understood.

Widespread hepatitis C virus transmission network among people who inject drugs in Kenya.

Objectives: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) disproportionately affects people who inject drugs (PWID) worldwide. Despite carrying a high HCV burden, little is known about transmission dynamics in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: We recruited PWID from Nairobi and coastal cities and towns of Mombasa, Kilifi, and Malindi in Kenya at needle and syringe programs.

Presence of Microscopic Hematuria Does Not Predict Clinically Important Intra-Abdominal Injury in Children.

Objective: Screening for blunt intra-abdominal injury in children often includes directed laboratory evaluation that guides need for computed tomography. We sought to evaluate the use of urinalysis in identifying patients with clinically important intraabdominal injury ( ci -IAI).

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for all patients less than 18 years who presented with blunt mechanisms at a level I trauma center between 2016 and 2019.

Seismic activities in Ghana: A systematic review.

Seismic activities pose significant challenges to societies globally. Therefore, it is crucial to understand their occurrence, patterns, and impacts. By studying seismic activities, including earthquakes, researchers can investigate their occurrence, distribution, and characteristics which can provide effective management and risk reduction strategies.

ULTRA-SR Challenge: Assessment of Ultrasound Localization and TRacking Algorithms for Super-Resolution Imaging.

With the widespread interest and uptake of super-resolution ultrasound (SRUS) through localization and tracking of microbubbles, also known as ultrasound localization microscopy (ULM), many localization and tracking algorithms have been developed. ULM can image many centimeters into tissue in-vivo and track microvascular flow non-invasively with sub-diffraction resolution. In a significant community effort, we organized a challenge, Ultrasound Localization and TRacking Algorithms for Super-Resolution (ULTRA-SR).

A 12-Year-Old with Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest in 12-Year-Old BoyA 12-year-old boy suddenly lost consciousness while playing catch in his backyard. He was found pulseless and received cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation before being transferred to the emergency department. How do you approach the evaluation, and what is the diagnosis?

Polyethylene bearing wear is comparable for cemented and cementless Oxford unicompartmental knee replacements: Ten-year results of a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: There is concern that using cementless components may increase polyethylene wear of the Oxford unicompartmental knee replacement (OUKR). Therefore, this study aimed to measure bearing wear at 10 years in patients from a randomized trial comparing Phase 3 cemented and cementless OUKRs and to investigate factors that may affect wear. It was hypothesized that there would be no difference in wear rate between cemented and cementless OUKRs.

Traditional beliefs and willingness to pay for improving a mining-polluted river in Ghana.

Pollution of water resources is a widespread challenge across the globe which requires effective policy measures. However, in many instances, state institutions are weak in addressing these problems. One then wonders what alternative management regimes can be used in place of public policies.

Single-cell atlas of healthy human blood unveils age-related loss of NKG2CGZMBCD8 memory T cells and accumulation of type 2 memory T cells.

Extensive, large-scale single-cell profiling of healthy human blood at different ages is one of the critical pending tasks required to establish a framework for the systematic understanding of human aging. Here, using single-cell RNA/T cell receptor (TCR)/BCR-seq with protein feature barcoding, we profiled 317 samples from 166 healthy individuals aged 25-85 years old. From this, we generated a dataset from ∼2 million cells that described 55 subpopulations of blood immune cells.

Fixed lateral unicompartmental knee replacement is a reliable treatment for lateral compartment osteoarthritis after mobile-bearing medial unicompartmental replacement.

Purpose: Lateral osteoarthritis following medial unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) is usually treated with total knee replacement, however, lateral UKR is a less invasive option that preserves a well-functioning medial UKR. This study aimed to determine the 5-year outcome of the cemented Fixed Lateral Oxford UKR (FLO) when used for the treatment of severe lateral disease after medial Oxford unicompartmental knee replacement.

Methods: Forty-four knees with lateral bone-on-bone osteoarthritis (n = 43) and avascular necrosis (n = 1) treated with the FLO following medial Oxford UKR were followed up prospectively.

Women in their mid-follicular phase outcompete hormonal contraceptive users, an effect partially explained by relatively greater progesterone and cortisol reactivity to competition.

Early evidence suggests that hormonal contraceptive (HC) use alters psychological functioning and competitive behavior. Yet, there is limited data on endocrine models for explaining how HC use affects these outcomes. In this pre-registered and open-data study, we test if HC users and naturally cycling (NC) females in their low (mid-follicular) and high (mid-luteal) progesterone phase differ in competitive persistence and whether progesterone and cortisol reactivity mediate of this effect.

Multiparametric ultrasound imaging for early-stage steatosis: Comparison with magnetic resonance imaging-based proton density fat fraction.

Background: The prevalence of liver diseases, especially steatosis, requires a more convenient and noninvasive tool for liver diagnosis, which can be a surrogate for the gold standard biopsy. Magnetic resonance (MR) measurement offers potential, however ultrasound (US) has better accessibility than MR.

Purpose: This study aims to suggest a multiparametric US approach which demonstrates better quantification and imaging performance than MR imaging-based proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) for hepatic steatosis assessment.

Management of chronic non-communicable diseases in Ghana: a qualitative study of patients' coping strategies and the role of caregivers.

Background: Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (CNCDs) has become a major cause of mortality and disability globally. We explored the coping strategies adopted by CNCD patients and the roles of caregivers in the management of CNCDs in Ghana.

Methods: This was a qualitative study that adopted an exploratory design.

Derivation and Validation of a Machine Learning Algorithm for Predicting Venous Thromboembolism in Injured Children.

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) causes significant morbidity in pediatric trauma patients. We applied machine learning algorithms to the Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) database to develop and validate a risk prediction model for VTE in injured children.

Methods: Patients ≤18 years were identified from TQIP (2017-2019, n = 383,814).

Obesity is not associated with increased resource utilization or morbidity in patients undergoing appendectomy.

Background: Obesity is a growing public health concern that places patients at risk of morbidity and mortality following surgery. We sought to determine whether obesity influences our resource utilization and postoperative outcomes for patients who present with appendicitis.

Methods: Charts were reviewed for patients age 1-18 years identified from a prospective registry who presented with a diagnosis of appendicitis from 2017 to 2020.

Shelter in Place and an Alarming Increase in Penetrating Trauma in Children and Concerning Decrease in Child Abuse.

Background: On March 14, 2020, schools across North Carolina (NC) closed in response to Covid-19, forcing completion of the school year at home. Most pediatric trauma occurs at home with a higher prevalence when children are out of school. We queried the state trauma database to assess if the 2020 "shelter in place" was associated with an increase in pediatric trauma statewide.

Evaluation of lung ultrasound to detect volume overload in children undergoing dialysis.

Background: Lung ultrasound is a well-established technique to assess extravascular lung water, a proxy for volume status, in the adult population. Despite its utility, the data are limited supporting the use of ultrasound to evaluate fluid volume status among pediatric patients. Our study uses a simplified ultrasound protocol to evaluate changes in extravascular lung water, represented by b-lines, among pediatric patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Optimizing Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Neonates With Congenital Heart Disease.

Neurodevelopmental impairment is a common and important long-term morbidity among infants with congenital heart disease (CHD). More than half of those with complex CHD will demonstrate some form of neurodevelopmental, neurocognitive, and/or psychosocial dysfunction requiring specialized care and impacting long-term quality of life. Preventing brain injury and treating long-term neurologic sequelae in this high-risk clinical population is imperative for improving neurodevelopmental and psychosocial outcomes.