Lymphatic leaks - success of intranodal lymphangiogram first strategy.

Background: Lymphatic leaks are associated with significant mortality and morbidity. Intranodal lymphangiography (ILAG) involves the direct injection of ethiodised lipid into the hilum of lymph nodes. It is diagnostic procedure that can have therapeutic effects secondary to a local sclerosant effect.

Optimisation of Animal Handing and Timing of 2-deoxy-2-[F]fluoro-D-glucose PET Tumour Imaging in Mice.

Purpose: In humans, 2-deoxy-2-[F]fluoro-D-glucose ([F]FDG) tumour-to-background contrast continues to increase long after a typical uptake period of 45 - 60 min. Similar studies have not been performed in mice and the static imaging time point for most studies is arbitrarily set at 30 - 60 min post-injection of [F]FDG. Ideally, static PET imaging should be performed after the initial period of rapid uptake but this period has not been defined in mice, with previous dynamic studies in mice being limited to 60 min.

Strategic Optimization of the Flushing Operations in Lubricant Manufacturing and Packaging Facilities.

Commercial lubricant industries use a complex pipeline network for the sequential processing of thousands of unique products annually. Flushing is conducted between changeovers to ensure the integrity of each production batch. An upcoming product is used for cleaning the residues of the previous batch, resulting in the formation of a commingled/mixed oil that does not match the specifications of either of the two batches.

Hydrogel-Encapsulated Heterogenous Mesoporous Resin Catalyst for In Situ Anti-Cancer Agent Production under Biological Conditions.

A heterogenous Palladium anchored Resorcinol-formaldehyde-hyperbranched PEI mesoporous catalyst, made by one-pot synthesis, was used successfully for in situ Suzuki-Miyaura cross coupling synthesis of anticancer prodrug PP-121 from iodoprazole and boronic ester precursors. The mesoporous catalyst with the non-cytotoxic precursors were tested in 2D in vitro model with excellent cytocompatibility and a strong suppression of PC3 cancer cell proliferation, underscored by 50% reduction in PC3 cells viability and 55% reduction in cell metabolism activity and an enhanced rate of early and late apoptosis in flow cytometry, that was induced only by successful in situ pro drug PP121 synthesis from the precursors. The 3D gelatin methacrylate hydrogel encapsulated in vitro cell models underscored the results with a 52% reduction in cell metabolism and underscored apoptosis of PC3 cells when the Pd anchored catalyst was combined with the precursors.

Chest CT Patterns from Diagnosis to 1 Year of Follow-up in Patients with COVID-19.

Background The chest CT manifestations of COVID-19 from hospitalization to convalescence after 1 year are unknown. Purpose To assess chest CT manifestations of COVID-19 up to 1 year after symptom onset. Materials and Methods Patients were enrolled if they were admitted to the hospital because of COVID-19 and underwent CT during hospitalization at two isolation centers between January 27, 2020, and March 31, 2020.

Acute appendicitis and retroperitoneal abscess: rare complications of sigmoid diverticulitis.

Diverticulitis is a common cause of an acute surgical abdomen and computed tomography has become an essential part of work up particularly to identify complications that commonly include intraperitoneal perforation, abscess and fistula formation. We report the case of an 81-year-old male who presented to the emergency department with acute lower abdominal pain and was found to have sigmoid diverticulitis with the rare complications of a diverticular abscess that had formed a sinus tract and perforated into the retroperitoneum and secondary acute appendicitis. Initial management was with intravenous antibiotics, a Hartmann's procedure and appendicectomy.

Comparison of C MRI of hyperpolarized [1- C]pyruvate and lactate with the corresponding mass spectrometry images in a murine lymphoma model.

Purpose: To compare carbon-13 ( C) MRSI of hyperpolarized [1- C]pyruvate metabolism in a murine tumor model with mass spectrometric (MS) imaging of the corresponding tumor sections in order to cross validate these metabolic imaging techniques and to investigate the effects of pyruvate delivery and tumor lactate concentration on lactate labeling.

Methods: [1- C]lactate images were obtained from tumor-bearing mice, following injection of hyperpolarized [1- C]pyruvate, using a single-shot 3D C spectroscopic imaging sequence in vivo and using desorption electrospray ionization MS imaging of the corresponding rapidly frozen tumor sections ex vivo. The images were coregistered, and levels of association were determined by means of Spearman rank correlation and Cohen kappa coefficients as well as linear mixed models.

Metabolic Imaging Detects Resistance to PI3Kα Inhibition Mediated by Persistent FOXM1 Expression in ER Breast Cancer.

PIK3CA, encoding the PI3Kα isoform, is the most frequently mutated oncogene in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. Isoform-selective PI3K inhibitors are used clinically but intrinsic and acquired resistance limits their utility. Improved selection of patients that will benefit from these drugs requires predictive biomarkers.

Different computed tomography patterns of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) between survivors and non-survivors.

This study aimed to compare the chest computed tomography (CT) findings between survivors and non-survivors with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Between 12 January 2020 and 20 February 2020, the records of 124 consecutive patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were retrospectively reviewed and divided into survivor (83/124) and non-survivor (41/124) groups. Chest CT findings were qualitatively compared on admission and serial chest CT scans were semi-quantitively evaluated between two groups using curve estimations.

Time Course of Lung Changes at Chest CT during Recovery from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Background Chest CT is used to assess the severity of lung involvement in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Purpose To determine the changes in chest CT findings associated with COVID-19 from initial diagnosis until patient recovery. Materials and Methods This retrospective review included patients with real-time polymerase chain reaction-confirmed COVID-19 who presented between January 12, 2020, and February 6, 2020.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Is More Sensitive Than PET for Detecting Treatment-Induced Cell Death-Dependent Changes in Glycolysis.

Metabolic imaging has been widely used to measure the early responses of tumors to treatment. Here, we assess the abilities of PET measurement of [F]FDG uptake and MRI measurement of hyperpolarized [1-C]pyruvate metabolism to detect early changes in glycolysis following treatment-induced cell death in human colorectal (Colo205) and breast adenocarcinoma (MDA-MB-231) xenografts in mice. A TRAIL agonist that binds to human but not mouse cells induced tumor-selective cell death.

Emerging Functional Imaging Biomarkers of Tumour Responses to Radiotherapy.

Tumour responses to radiotherapy are currently primarily assessed by changes in size. Imaging permits non-invasive, whole-body assessment of tumour burden and guides treatment options for most tumours. However, in most tumours, changes in size are slow to manifest and can sometimes be difficult to interpret or misleading, potentially leading to prolonged durations of ineffective treatment and delays in changing therapy.

Glyoxalase activity in human erythrocytes and mouse lymphoma, liver and brain probed with hyperpolarized C-methylglyoxal.

Methylglyoxal is a faulty metabolite. It is a ubiquitous by-product of glucose and amino acid metabolism that spontaneously reacts with proximal amino groups in proteins and nucleic acids, leading to impairment of their function. The glyoxalase pathway evolved early in phylogeny to bring about rapid catabolism of methylglyoxal, and an understanding of the role of methylglyoxal and the glyoxalases in many diseases is beginning to emerge.

Hyperpolarized C spectroscopic imaging using single-shot 3D sequences with unpaired adiabatic refocusing pulses.

Hyperpolarized MRI with C-labeled metabolites has enabled metabolic imaging of tumors in vivo. The heterogeneous nature of tumors and the limited lifetime of the hyperpolarization require high resolution, both temporally and spatially. We describe two sequences that make more efficient use of the C polarization than previously described single-shot 3D sequences.

Magnetic resonance imaging of cancer metabolism with hyperpolarized C-labeled cell metabolites.

Hyperpolarization of C-labeled substrates can increase their C NMR signal by more than 10000-fold, which has allowed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of metabolic reactions in vivo. This has already provided a unique insight into the dysregulated metabolic pathways and microenvironment of tumors. Perhaps the best known of the cancer-associated metabolic aberrations is the Warburg effect, which has been imaged in patients using hyperpolarized [1-C]pyruvate.

A referenceless Nyquist ghost correction workflow for echo planar imaging of hyperpolarized [1- C]pyruvate and [1- C]lactate.

Single-shot echo planar imaging (EPI), which allows an image to be acquired using a single excitation pulse, is used widely for imaging the metabolism of hyperpolarized C-labelled metabolites in vivo as the technique is rapid and minimizes the depletion of the hyperpolarized signal. However, EPI suffers from Nyquist ghosting, which normally is corrected for by acquiring a reference scan. In a dynamic acquisition of a series of images, this results in the sacrifice of a time point if the reference scan involves a full readout train with no phase encoding.

Dynamic H imaging of hyperpolarized [1- C]lactate in vivo using a reverse INEPT experiment.

Purpose: Dynamic magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging of hyperpolarized C-labeled cell substrates has enabled the investigation of tissue metabolism in vivo. Currently observation of these hyperpolarized substrates is limited mainly to C detection. We describe here an imaging pulse sequence that enables proton observation by using polarization transfer from the hyperpolarized C nucleus to spin-coupled protons.

Identifying Barriers to Appropriate Use of Metabolic/Bariatric Surgery for Type 2 Diabetes Treatment: Policy Lab Results.

Despite increasing recognition of the efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of bariatric/metabolic surgery in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, few patients who may be appropriate candidates and may benefit from this type of surgery avail themselves of this treatment option. To identify conceptual and practical barriers to appropriate use of surgical procedures, a Policy Lab was hosted at the 3rd World Congress on Interventional Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes on 29 September 2015. Twenty-six stakeholders participated in the Policy Lab, including academics, clinicians, policy-makers, industry leaders, and patient representatives.

Single shot three-dimensional pulse sequence for hyperpolarized C MRI.

Purpose: Metabolic imaging with hyperpolarized C-labeled cell substrates is a promising technique for imaging tissue metabolism in vivo. However, the transient nature of the hyperpolarization, and its depletion following excitation, limits the imaging time and the number of excitation pulses that can be used. We describe here a single-shot three-dimensional (3D) imaging sequence and demonstrate its capability to generate C MR images in tumor-bearing mice injected with hyperpolarized [1- C]pyruvate.

Radiomics and circulating tumor cells: personalized care in hepatocellular carcinoma?

Personalized care in oncology is expected to significantly improve morbidity and mortality, facilitated by our increasing understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving tumors and the ability to target those drivers. Hepatocellular carcinoma has a very high mortality to incidence ratio despite localized disease being curable, emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis. Radiomics, the use of imaging technology to extrapolate molecular tumor data, and the detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are two new technologies that could be incorporated into the clinical setting with relative ease.