Explore the Value of Multi-Parameter MRI in Non-Invasive Assessment of Prognostic Risk and Oxford Classification in Children with IgAN or IgAVN.

Purpose: To explore the Oxford classification and prognostic risk stratification of the non-invasive evaluation of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) or immunoglobulin A vasculitis with nephritis (IgAVN) in children using multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials And Methods: Forty-four children diagnosed with IgAN or IgAVN were included. Patients with 80-month risk scores >10% were categorized as the high-risk group, while others constituted the low-risk group.

Identification of Calculous Pyonephrosis by CT-Based Radiomics and Deep Learning.

Urgent detection of calculous pyonephrosis is crucial for surgical planning and preventing severe outcomes. This study aims to evaluate the performance of computed tomography (CT)-based radiomics and a three-dimensional convolutional neural network (3D-CNN) model, integrated with independent clinical factors, to identify patients with calculous pyonephrosis. We recruited 182 patients receiving either percutaneous nephrostomy tube placement or percutaneous nephrolithotomy for calculous hydronephrosis or pyonephrosis.

Noninvasive Assessment of the Renal Function, Oxford Classification and Prognostic Risk Stratification of IgAN by Using Intravoxel Incoherent Motion Diffusion-Weighted Imaging and Blood Oxygenation Level-Dependent MRI.

Background: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is the most common primary glomerulonephritis worldwide. Oxford classification including mesangial hypercellularity (M), endothelial hypercellularity (E), segmental sclerosis (S), interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy (T), and crescent (C) were recommended to predict the prognosis of IgAN.

Purpose: To explore whether multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be applied to assess the renal function, Oxford classification, and risk of progression to end-stage kidney disease within 5 years of IgAN.

Non-invasive evaluation of the pathological and functional characteristics of chronic kidney disease by diffusion kurtosis imaging and intravoxel incoherent motion imaging: comparison with conventional DWI.

Objective: To explore the diagnostic performance of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and incoherent intravoxel movement (IVIM) in evaluating the clinical and pathological characteristics in chronic kidney disease (CKD) compared to conventional diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).

Methods: Forty-nine CKD patients and 24 healthy volunteers were included in this retrospective study from September 2020 to September 2021. All participants underwent MRI examinations before percutaneous renal biopsy.

Noninvasive assessment of renal function and fibrosis in CKD patients using histogram analysis based on diffusion kurtosis imaging.

Purpose: To investigate the potential of histogram analysis based on diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in evaluating renal function and fibrosis associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Materials And Methods: Thirty-six CKD patients were enrolled, and DKI was performed in all patients before the renal biopsy. The histogram parameters of diffusivity (D) and kurtosis (K) were obtained using FireVoxel.

Noninvasive assessment of clinical and pathological characteristics of patients with IgA nephropathy by diffusion kurtosis imaging.

Objectives: To explore the diagnostic performance of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in evaluating the clinical and pathological characteristics of patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) compared with conventional DWI.

Materials And Methods: A total of 28 IgAN patients and 14 healthy volunteers prospectively underwent MRI examinations including coronal T2WI, axial T1WI, T2WI, and DWI sequences from September 2020 to August 2021. We measured mean kurtosis (MK), mean diffusivity (MD), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) by using MR Body Diffusion Toolbox v1.

Erratum: Author Correction: Advancing COVID-19 diagnosis with privacy-preserving collaboration in artificial intelligence.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/s42256-021-00421-z.].

Assessment of renal function using magnetic resonance quantitative histogram analysis based on spatial labeling with multiple inversion pulses.

Background: The incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is high, and is easy to develop into end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which requires kidney dialysis or kidney transplantation. Therefore, we want to explore the clinical value of magnetic resonance quantitative histogram analysis based on spatial labeling with multiple inversion pulses (SLEEK) in assessing renal function in the early stage.

Methods: One hundred and twenty-nine patients underwent abdominal MRI examination, including a coronal SLEEK sequence.

Advancing COVID-19 diagnosis with privacy-preserving collaboration in artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence provides a promising solution for streamlining COVID-19 diagnoses; however, concerns surrounding security and trustworthiness impede the collection of large-scale representative medical data, posing a considerable challenge for training a well-generalized model in clinical practices. To address this, we launch the Unified CT-COVID AI Diagnostic Initiative (UCADI), where the artificial intelligence (AI) model can be distributedly trained and independently executed at each host institution under a federated learning framework without data sharing. Here we show that our federated learning framework model considerably outperformed all of the local models (with a test sensitivity/specificity of 0.

Advancing COVID-19 Diagnosis with Privacy-Preserving Collaboration in Artificial Intelligence.

Artificial intelligence (AI) provides a promising substitution for streamlining COVID-19 diagnoses. However, concerns surrounding security and trustworthiness impede the collection of large-scale representative medical data, posing a considerable challenge for training a well-generalised model in clinical practices. To address this, we launch the Unified CT-COVID AI Diagnostic Initiative (UCADI), where the AI model can be distributedly trained and independently executed at each host institution under a federated learning framework (FL) without data sharing.

Noninvasive assessment of kidney dysfunction in children by using blood oxygenation level-dependent MRI and intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging.

Objectives: To explore whether multiparametric approach including blood oxygenation level-dependent MRI (BOLD-MRI) and intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI) can be applied in the assessment of renal function in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Materials And Methods: This prospective study included 74 children (CKD stage 1-3, 51; CKD stage 4-5, 12; healthy volunteers, 11) for renal MRI examinations including coronal T2WI, axial T1WI and T2WI, BOLD-MRI, and DWI sequences. We measured the renal cortex and medulla T2*, ADC, D, D, and f values on BOLD and DWI images.

Characteristics of COVID-19 patients with preexisting CKD history.

Purpose: This paper was intended to describe the characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with known chronic kidney disease (CKD) history.

Methods: Clinical information of 20 COVID-19 pneumonia patients with CKD history diagnosed between January 20th and March 1st, 2020 were collected in Tongji Hospital, Wuhan. We listed the clinical baseline data, laboratory findings, chest computed tomography (CT) changes and processed a short period of follow-up of these 20 patients.

Prediction of the World Health Organization Grade of rectal neuroendocrine tumors based on CT histogram analysis.

Objectives: To investigate the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) histogram analysis in predicting the World Health Organization (WHO) grade of rectal neuroendocrine tumors (R-NETs).

Materials And Methods: A total of 61 (35 G1, 12 G2, 10 G3, and 4 NECs) patients who underwent preoperative CECT and treated with surgery to be confirmed as R-NETs were included in this study from January 2014 to May 2019. We depicted ROIs and measured the CECT texture parameters (mean, median, 10th, 25th, 75th, 90th percentiles, skewness, kurtosis, and entropy) from arterial phase (AP) and venous phase (VP) images by two radiologists.

One-stop assessment of renal function and renal artery in hypertensive patients with suspected renal dysfunction: non-enhanced MRI using spatial labeling with multiple inversion pulses.

Objectives: To assess whether spatial labeling with multiple inversion pulses (SLEEK) sequence can be employed as a one-stop assessment method for evaluating renal function and displaying renal artery in hypertensive patients with suspected renal dysfunction.

Methods: A total of 78 patients with suspected hypertensive renal damage were enrolled in this retrospective study. All patients underwent MRI examinations, and both SLEEK and DWI sequences were performed simultaneously.

Gallbladder carcinoma: an initial clinical experience of reduced field-of-view diffusion-weighted MRI.

Background: The purpose of this study is to compare the diagnostic value, imaging quality and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value of reduced field-of-view diffusion-weight imaging (r-FOV DWI) and full field-of-view diffusion-weight imaging (f-FOV DWI) in patients with gallbladder carcinoma and other lesions of gallbladder.

Methods: Two hundred ninety-six patients with gallbladder diseases underwent both r-FOV DWI and f-FOV DWI on a 3.0 T MRI scanner.

A collaborative online AI engine for CT-based COVID-19 diagnosis.

Artificial intelligence can potentially provide a substantial role in streamlining chest computed tomography (CT) diagnosis of COVID-19 patients. However, several critical hurdles have impeded the development of robust AI model, which include deficiency, isolation, and heterogeneity of CT data generated from diverse institutions. These bring about lack of generalization of AI model and therefore prevent it from applications in clinical practices.

Reduced Field-of-View Diffusion-Weighted Imaging in Histological Characterization of Rectal Cancer: Impact of Different Region-of-Interest Positioning Protocols on Apparent Diffusion Coefficient Measurements.

Purpose: To compare four region-of-interest (ROI) protocols for apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) quantifications derived from reduced field-of-view diffusion-weighted imaging (rDWI) in histological characterization of rectal cancer.

Materials And Methods: Forty-nine patients with rectal cancer underwent rDWI at 3.0 T.

Role of Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer and Magnetization Transfer MRI in Detecting Metabolic and Structural Changes of Renal Fibrosis in an Animal Model at 3T.

Objective: To investigate the value of combined chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) and conventional magnetization transfer imaging (MT) in detecting metabolic and structural changes of renal fibrosis in rats with unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) at 3T MRI.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-five Sprague-Dawley rats underwent UUO surgery (n = 25) or sham surgery (n = 10). The obstructed and contralateral kidneys were evaluated on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 after surgery.

Assessment of renal fibrosis in a rat model of unilateral ureteral obstruction with diffusion kurtosis imaging: Comparison with α-SMA expression and F-FDG PET.

Purpose: To investigate the utility of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) MRI for evaluation of renal fibrosis in rats with unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO).

Methods: Twenty-five rats had UUO, and ten rats were subjected to sham operation as control. DKI was performed on a 3.

MitoTEMPO Prevents Oxalate Induced Injury in NRK-52E Cells via Inhibiting Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Modulating Oxidative Stress.

As one of the major risks for urolithiasis, hyperoxaluria can be caused by genetic defect or dietary intake. And high oxalate induced renal epithelial cells injury is related to oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Here, we investigated whether MitoTEMPO, a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant, could protect against oxalate mediated injury in NRK-52E cells via inhibiting mitochondrial dysfunction and modulating oxidative stress.

Flexible ureteroscopy for renal stone without preoperative ureteral stenting shows good prognosis.

Purpose: To clarify the outcome of flexible ureteroscopy (fURS) for management of renal calculi without preoperative stenting.

Methods: A total of 171 patients who received 176 fURS procedures for unilateral renal stones were reviewed. All procedures were divided into two groups depending on whether they received ureteral stenting preoperatively.

Cdc42-Interacting Protein 4 Represses E-Cadherin Expression by Promoting β-Catenin Translocation to the Nucleus in Murine Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells.

Renal fibrosis is an inevitable outcome of end-stage chronic kidney disease. During this process, epithelial cells lose E-cadherin expression. β-Catenin may act as a mediator by accumulation and translocation to the nucleus.

Erbin interacts with Sema4C and inhibits Sema4C-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition in HK2 cells.

Erbin, a member of Leucine-rich repeat and PDZ-containing protein family, was found to inhibit TGF-β-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in our previous study. However, the mechanism of Erbin in regulating EMT is unclear. Semaphorin protein Sema4C, with PDZ binding site at C-terminal has been recognized as a positive regulator of EMT.

Cdc42-interacting protein-4 promotes TGF-Β1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition and extracellular matrix deposition in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells.

Cdc42-interacting protein-4 (CIP4) is an F-BAR (Fer/CIP4 and Bin, amphiphysin, Rvs) family member that regulates membrane deformation and endocytosis, playing a key role in extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and invasion of cancer cells. These processes are analogous to those observed during the initial epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of renal tubular epithelial cells. The role of CIP4 in renal tubular EMT and renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis was investigated over the course of the current study, demonstrating that the expression of CIP4 increased in the tubular epithelia of 5/6-nephrectomized rats and TGF-β1 treated HK-2 cells.