Midlife and Late-Life Vascular Risk Factors and White Matter Microstructural Integrity: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study.

Background: Diffusion tensor imaging measures of white matter (WM) microstructural integrity appear to provide earlier indication of WM injury than WM hyperintensities; however, risk factors for poor WM microstructural integrity have not been established. Our study quantifies the association between vascular risk factors in midlife and late life with measures of late-life WM microstructural integrity.

Methods And Results: We used data from 1851 participants in ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study) who completed 3-T magnetic resonance imaging, including diffusion tensor imaging, as part of the ARIC Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS).

Cost-effectiveness of MR Imaging-guided Strategies for Detection of Prostate Cancer in Biopsy-Naive Men.

Purpose To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of multiparametric diagnostic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examination followed by MR imaging-guided biopsy strategies in the detection of prostate cancer in biopsy-naive men presenting with clinical suspicion of cancer for the first time. Materials and Methods A decision-analysis model was created for biopsy-naive men who had been recommended for prostate biopsy on the basis of abnormal digital rectal examination results or elevated prostate-specific antigen levels (age groups: 41-50 years, 51-60 years, and 61-70 years). The following three major strategies were evaluated: (a) standard transrectal ultrasonography (US)-guided biopsy; (b) diagnostic MR imaging followed by MR imaging-targeted biopsy, with no biopsy performed if MR imaging findings were negative; and (c) diagnostic MR imaging followed by MR imaging-targeted biopsy, with a standard biopsy performed when MR imaging findings were negative.

Neighborhood social environment as risk factors to health behavior among African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study.

Background: Few studies have focused on the impact of neighborhood social environment on changes in smoking and alcohol use over time among African Americans.

Method: Jackson Heart Study participants were recruited from the Jackson, MS metropolitan area from 2000 to 2004. Neighborhood social environment was characterized using census-based neighborhood socio-economic status (NSES) and survey-derived perceptions of neighborhood social cohesion, disorder, and violence.

Effects of Antiretroviral Therapy and Depressive Symptoms on All-Cause Mortality Among HIV-Infected Women.

Depression affects up to 30% of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals. We estimated joint effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation and depressive symptoms on time to death using a joint marginal structural model and data from a cohort of HIV-infected women from the Women's Interagency HIV Study (conducted in the United States) from 1998-2011. Among 848 women contributing 6,721 years of follow-up, 194 participants died during follow-up, resulting in a crude mortality rate of 2.

Improved magnetic resonance fingerprinting reconstruction with low-rank and subspace modeling.

Purpose: This article introduces a constrained imaging method based on low-rank and subspace modeling to improve the accuracy and speed of MR fingerprinting (MRF).

Theory And Methods: A new model-based imaging method is developed for MRF to reconstruct high-quality time-series images and accurate tissue parameter maps (e.g.

Left Ventricular Function Across the Spectrum of Body Mass Index in African Americans: The Jackson Heart Study.

Objectives: This study sought to assess whether body mass index (BMI) was associated with subclinical left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction in African-American individuals.

Background: Higher BMI is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including heart failure. Obesity disproportionately affects African Americans; however, the association between higher BMI and LV function in African Americans is not well understood.

Cardiovascular Disease and Patterns of Change in Functional Status Over 15 Years: Findings From the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of premature disability, yet few prospective studies have examined functional status (FS) among persons with CVD. Our aim was to examine patterns of change in FS prior to and after hospitalization for nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure among members of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study cohort.

Methods And Results: FS was assessed using a modified Rosow-Breslau questionnaire administered during routine annual telephone interviews conducted from 1993 through 2007 among 15 277 ARIC study participants.

Educational health disparities in hypertension and diabetes mellitus among African descent populations in the Caribbean and the USA: a comparative analysis from the Spanish town cohort (Jamaica) and the Jackson heart study (USA).

Background: Studies have suggested that social inequalities in chronic disease outcomes differ between industrialized and developing countries, but few have directly compared these effects. We explored inequalities in hypertension and diabetes prevalence between African-descent populations with different levels of educational attainment in Jamaica and in the United States of America (USA), comparing disparities within each location, and between countries.

Methods: We analyzed baseline data from the Jackson Heart Study (JHS) in the USA and Spanish Town Cohort (STC) in Jamaica.

Association of Central Arterial Stiffness and Pressure Pulsatility with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study-Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS).

Background: The association of central arterial stiffness and pressure pulsatility with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia is not well characterized in the population-based setting.

Objective: The aim of this study was to quantify the cross-sectional association of arterial stiffness and pressure pulsatility with MCI and dementia among 4,461 older white and black adults from the population-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study-Neurocognitive Study.

Methods: We used race-stratified multinomial logistic regression to evaluate associations of percentile cut points of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, central systolic blood pressure, central pulse pressure, and pulse pressure amplification with MCI and dementia versus no cognitive impairment.

Development of a Combined MR Fingerprinting and Diffusion Examination for Prostate Cancer.

Purpose To develop and evaluate an examination consisting of magnetic resonance (MR) fingerprinting-based T1, T2, and standard apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mapping for multiparametric characterization of prostate disease. Materials and Methods This institutional review board-approved, HIPAA-compliant retrospective study of prospectively collected data included 140 patients suspected of having prostate cancer. T1 and T2 mapping was performed with fast imaging with steady-state precession-based MR fingerprinting with ADC mapping.

Relationship Between Midlife Cardiovascular Health and Late-Life Physical Performance: The ARIC Study.

Objectives: To examine the association between midlife cardiovascular health and physical performance 25 years later.

Design: Cohort study (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study); multinomial logistic and logistic regression adjusted for demographic characteristics and clinical measures.

Setting: Four U.

Tissue Non-Specific Genes and Pathways Associated with Diabetes: An Expression Meta-Analysis.

We performed expression studies to identify tissue non-specific genes and pathways of diabetes by meta-analysis. We searched curated datasets of the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and identified 13 and five expression studies of diabetes and insulin responses at various tissues, respectively. We tested differential gene expression by empirical Bayes-based linear method and investigated gene set expression association by knowledge-based enrichment analysis.

Slice profile and B corrections in 2D magnetic resonance fingerprinting.

Purpose: The goal of this study is to characterize and improve the accuracy of 2D magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) scans in the presence of slice profile (SP) and B imperfections, which are two main factors that affect quantitative results in MRF.

Methods: The SP and B imperfections are characterized and corrected separately. The SP effect is corrected by simulating the radiofrequency pulse in the dictionary, and the B is corrected by acquiring a B map using the Bloch-Siegert method before each scan.

Drugs and Medical Devices: Adverse Events and the Impact on Women's Health.

A large number of medications and medical devices removed from the market by the US Food and Drug Administration over the past 4 decades specifically posed greater health risks to women. This article reviews the historical background of sex and gender in clinical research policy and describes several approved drugs and devices targeted for use in women that have caused major morbidity and mortality. The intended population for the medications and devices, population affected, approval process, and the basic and legal actions taken against the medication/drug company are also discussed.

MR Fingerprinting of Adult Brain Tumors: Initial Experience.

Background And Purpose: MR fingerprinting allows rapid simultaneous quantification of T1 and T2 relaxation times. This study assessed the utility of MR fingerprinting in differentiating common types of adult intra-axial brain tumors.

Materials And Methods: MR fingerprinting acquisition was performed in 31 patients with untreated intra-axial brain tumors: 17 glioblastomas, 6 World Health Organization grade II lower grade gliomas, and 8 metastases.

Use of pattern recognition for unaliasing simultaneously acquired slices in simultaneous multislice MR fingerprinting.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to accelerate an MR fingerprinting (MRF) acquisition by using a simultaneous multislice method.

Methods: A multiband radiofrequency (RF) pulse was designed to excite two slices with different flip angles and phases. The signals of two slices were driven to be as orthogonal as possible.

Associations of Brain Structure With Adiposity and Changes in Adiposity in a Middle-Aged and Older Biracial Population.

Background: Studies of adiposity and brain pathology in African Americans (AA) are sparse despite higher rates of obesity, dementia, and dementia-associated brain pathology in AA. This study examined relations of adiposity to white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and total brain volume (TBV) in AA and non-Hispanic whites (NHW).

Methods: Waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) were measured in the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Arteriopathy study at Visits 1 (mean age 57 [±11]) and 2 (mean age 61 [±10], mean 5.

End loss analyzer system for measurements of plasma flux at the C-2U divertor electrode.

An end loss analyzer system consisting of electrostatic, gridded retarding-potential analyzers and pyroelectric crystal bolometers was developed to characterize the plasma loss along open field lines to the divertors of C-2U. The system measures the current and energy distribution of escaping ions as well as the total power flux to enable calculation of the energy lost per escaping electron/ion pair. Special care was taken in the construction of the analyzer elements so that they can be directly mounted to the divertor electrode.

A SAS macro for the joint modeling of longitudinal outcomes and multiple competing risk dropouts.

Background And Objectives: The joint modeling of longitudinal and survival data to assess effects of multiple informative dropout mechanisms on longitudinal outcomes inference has received considerable attention during recent years; related statistical programs to apply these methods have been lacking. This paper provides a SAS macro implementation of a shared parameter model to accommodate the analysis of longitudinal outcomes in the presence of multiple competing survival/dropout events.

Methods: In this macro, we assumed that the associations between the survival and the longitudinal submodels are linked through a set of shared random effects.