Detection of equine parvovirus-hepatitis and efficacy of governmental regulation for equine biologics purity.

In 2018, a new virus, named equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H), was discovered in a biologic product that had been administered to horses that subsequently developed clinical signs of equine serum hepatitis (Theiler disease). Further correlation of the virus with the disease sparked federal requirements that all equine biologics be free of EqPV-H. The initial quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) test for EqPV-H has proved to be sensitive to co-extracted PCR inhibitors in template nucleic acids, causing false-negative results.

Pharmacist driven antibiotic redosing in the emergency department.

Study Objective: Determine whether an expanded emergency medicine (EM) pharmacist scope of practice reduces the frequency of major delays in subsequent antibiotic administration in patients boarded in the emergency department (ED).

Methods: A pre-post, quasi-experimental study conducted from November 2019-March 2020 at a single-center tertiary academic medical center following the implementation of an expanded EM pharmacist scope of practice. Adult patients were included if they received an initial antibiotic dose in the ED and deemed to be high-risk.

In vivo MRI evaluation of anabolic steroid precursor growth effects in a guinea pig model.

Anabolic steroids are widely used to increase skeletal muscle (SM) mass and improve physical performance. Some dietary supplements also include potent steroid precursors or active steroid analogs such as nandrolone. Our previous study reported the anabolic steroid effects on SM in a castrated guinea pig model with SM measured using a highly quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol.

A novel 3-dimensional micro-ultrasound approach to automated measurement of carotid arterial plaque volume as a biomarker for experimental atherosclerosis.

Improved methods for non-invasive in vivo assessment are needed to guide development of animal models of atherosclerosis and to evaluate target engagement and in vivo efficacy of new drugs. Using novel 3D-micro-ultrasound technology, we developed and validated a novel protocol for 3D acquisition and analysis of imaging to follow lesion progression in atherosclerotic mice. The carotid arteries of ApoE receptor knockout mice and normal control mice were imaged within the proximal 2mm from the aortic branch point.

A quantitative volumetric micro-computed tomography method to analyze lung tumors in genetically engineered mouse models.

Two genetically engineered, conditional mouse models of lung tumor formation, K-ras(LSL-G12D) and K-ras(LSL-G12D)/p53(LSL-R270H), are commonly used to model human lung cancer. Developed by Tyler Jacks and colleagues, these models have been invaluable to study in vivo lung cancer initiation and progression in a genetically and physiologically relevant context. However, heterogeneity, multiplicity and complexity of tumor formation in these models make it challenging to monitor tumor growth in vivo and have limited the application of these models in oncology drug discovery.

Atherosclerosis inflammation imaging with 18F-FDG PET: carotid, iliac, and femoral uptake reproducibility, quantification methods, and recommendations.

Unlabelled: Atherosclerosis imaging with 18F-FDG PET is useful for tracking inflammation within plaque and monitoring the response to drug therapy. Short-term reproducibility of this technique in peripheral artery disease has not been assessed, and the optimal method of 18F-FDG quantification is still debated. We imaged 20 patients with vascular disease using 18F-FDG PET twice, 14 d apart, and used these data to assess reproducibility measures and compare 2 methods of 18F-FDG uptake measurement.

In vivo MRI quantification of individual muscle and organ volumes for assessment of anabolic steroid growth effects.

This study aimed to develop a quantitative and in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach to investigate the muscle growth effects of anabolic steroids. A protocol of MRI acquisition on a standard clinical 1.5 T scanner and quantitative image analysis was established and employed to measure the individual muscle and organ volumes in the intact and castrated guinea pigs undergoing a 16-week treatment protocol by two well-documented anabolic steroids, testosterone and nandrolone, via implanted silastic capsules.

Carpal tunnel release with a limited palmar incision: clinical results and pillar pain at 18 months follow-up.

Limited open carpal tunnel release was performed in 58 hands (44 patients) using a single 1.5 cm palmar incision according to the technique described by Lee and Strickland. The patients were assessed at regular intervals after surgery for hand functions and subjective symptoms, in particular pillar pain.

Boosting: an ensemble learning tool for compound classification and QSAR modeling.

A classification and regression tool, J. H. Friedman's Stochastic Gradient Boosting (SGB), is applied to predicting a compound's quantitative or categorical biological activity based on a quantitative description of the compound's molecular structure.

Cruciate ligament avulsion fractures.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to assess the variability of cruciate avulsion fractures.

Type Of Study: Retrospective observational study.

Methods: Standardized radiographs and computed tomography (CT) examinations were performed in 40 patients (31 male, 9 female; age range, 10 to 77 years) with cruciate avulsion fractures.

Random forest: a classification and regression tool for compound classification and QSAR modeling.

A new classification and regression tool, Random Forest, is introduced and investigated for predicting a compound's quantitative or categorical biological activity based on a quantitative description of the compound's molecular structure. Random Forest is an ensemble of unpruned classification or regression trees created by using bootstrap samples of the training data and random feature selection in tree induction. Prediction is made by aggregating (majority vote or averaging) the predictions of the ensemble.

Anterior shoulder dislocation: quantification of glenoid bone loss with CT.

Objective: In recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation, glenoid bone loss may predispose the patient to further dislocation and failure of a Bankart repair. This study investigates the quantification of glenoid bone loss in anterior shoulder dislocation using CT.

Subjects And Methods: CT examinations were performed on 40 patients (average age, 31 years; range, 13-82 years), comprising 46 shoulders with anterior dislocation and 34 contralateral normal shoulders.

Energy-conserving low-order models for three-dimensional Rayleigh-Bénard convection.

Constructing hydrodynamic low-order models in the form of coupled gyrostats eliminates the possibility of certain unphysical behaviors, such as solutions diverging to infinity, that often appear in models resulting from ad hoc truncations of Galerkin approximations. In this paper, a simple low-order model in a gyrostatic form that conserves energy in the dissipationless limit (Model I) is constructed for three-dimensional (3D) Rayleigh-Bénard convection. It can be considered an energy-conserving extension of the model by Das et al.