PI-QUAL version 2: an update of a standardised scoring system for the assessment of image quality of prostate MRI.

Multiparametric MRI is the optimal primary investigation when prostate cancer is suspected, and its ability to rule in and rule out clinically significant disease relies on high-quality anatomical and functional images. Avenues for achieving consistent high-quality acquisitions include meticulous patient preparation, scanner setup, optimised pulse sequences, personnel training, and artificial intelligence systems. The impact of these interventions on the final images needs to be quantified.

Cardiac rotation and relaxation in patients with chronic heart failure.

Background: The normal left ventricle shows a systolic wringing motion with clockwise rotation at the base and counterclockwise rotation at the apex.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was (1) to assess left ventricular (LV) contraction and relaxation in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), and (2) to evaluate the effect of medical therapy on LV contraction-relaxation behavior.

Methods: Magnetic resonance was used to examine LV motion by labeling specific LV regions in three planes (myocardial tagging).

Histological features of glomerular immaturity in infants and small children with normal or altered tubular function.

In children with renal tubular disorders the existence of retarded histological features of glomerular maturation has been suggested by our group. However, no valuable information is available on the frequency of histopathologically immature glomeruli in the normal kidney. For this reason we established a simple, semiquantitative definition of postnatal glomerular development: immature glomeruli (with at least half of the circumference of capillary loops densely lined with cuboidal epithelial cells), intermediate glomeruli (circumference of capillary loops lined with at least five adjoining cuboidal cells), and mature glomeruli.