Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 2023 Cases of SCMR case series.

"Cases of SCMR" is a case series on the SCMR website (https://www.scmr.org) for the purpose of education.

Call to action: Understanding the differences in the use of SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists.

Cardiovascular disease remains one of the most prominent global health problems and has been demonstrated to disproportionally affect certain communities. Despite an increasing collective effort to improve health inequalities, a multitude of disparities continue to affect cardiovascular outcomes. Among the most prominent disparities within cardiovascular disease prevention are with the use and distribution of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists.

Associations between Hospital Quality Outcomes and Medicare Spending per Beneficiary in the USA.

The cost of healthcare in the United States has increased over time. However, patient health outcomes have not trended with spending. There is a need to better comprehend the association between healthcare costs in the United States and hospital quality outcomes.

Mapping cortical and subcortical asymmetries in substance dependence: Findings from the ENIGMA Addiction Working Group.

Brain asymmetry reflects left-right hemispheric differentiation, which is a quantitative brain phenotype that develops with age and can vary with psychiatric diagnoses. Previous studies have shown that substance dependence is associated with altered brain structure and function. However, it is unknown whether structural brain asymmetries are different in individuals with substance dependence compared with nondependent participants.

Towards Translation of Discrete Frequency Infrared Spectroscopic Imaging for Digital Histopathology of Clinical Biopsy Samples.

Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic imaging has been widely tested as a tool for stainless digital histology of biomedical specimens, including for the identification of infiltration and fibrosis in endomyocardial biopsy samples to assess transplant rejection. A major barrier in clinical translation has been the slow speed of imaging. To address this need, we tested and report here the viability of using high speed discrete frequency infrared (DFIR) imaging to obtain stain-free biochemical imaging in cardiovascular samples collected from patients.

Falsely undetectable TSH in a cohort of South Asian euthyroid patients.

Context: An index case of a clinically euthyroid woman of South Asian descent was identified with discordant TSH results: undetectable TSH on our routine assay and normal TSH on an alternate assay. Low TSH concentrations due to functionally compromising TSH mutations have been reported. Here we describe a new phenomenon of functional TSH that is undetectable by 4 widely used US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved TSH immunoassays marketed by a single vendor.

Performance specifications of common chemistry analytes on the AU series of chemistry analyzers for miscellaneous body fluids.

Background: Body fluids are frequently submitted to the clinical laboratory. Standard chemistry analyzers are generally not FDA approved for body fluid analysis and regulatory authorities require individual laboratories to validate their performance characteristics.

Methods: Precision, linearity, accuracy, and sample stability were assessed for 10 different chemistry analytes using ascites, pleural, peritoneal dialysate, and synovial fluids on the Beckman Coulter (BC) AU5431.

Identification of one or two α-globin gene deletions by isoelectric focusing electrophoresis.

Objectives: To investigate the utility of isoelectric focusing electrophoresis (IEF) for identifying patients with α-thalassemia, which results from the deletion of 1 or more of the α-globin genes.

Methods: Samples were selected based on their hemoglobin H (HbH) concentration observed using IEF. The samples were analyzed for the most common α-globin gene deletions using molecular analysis.

A model international partnership for community-based research on vaccine-preventable diseases: the Kamphaeng Phet-AFRIMS Virology Research Unit (KAVRU).

This paper describes an international collaboration to carry out studies that contributed to the understanding of pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of several diseases of public health importance for Thailand and the United States. In Kamphaeng Phet Province, Thailand, febrile syndromes, including encephalitis, hepatitis, hemorrhagic fever, and influenza-like illnesses, occurred commonly and were clinically diagnosed, but the etiology was rarely confirmed. Since 1982, the Kamphaeng Phet Provincial Hospital, the Thai Ministry of Public Health, and the US Army Component of the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, along with vaccine manufacturers and universities, have collaborated on studies that evaluated and capitalized on improved diagnostic capabilities for infections caused by Japanese encephalitis, hepatitis A, dengue, and influenza viruses.

History of the restoration of adenovirus type 4 and type 7 vaccine, live oral (Adenovirus Vaccine) in the context of the Department of Defense acquisition system.

Respiratory pathogens cause morbidity and mortality in US military basic trainees. Following the influenza pandemic of 1918, and stimulated by WWII, the need to protect military personnel against epidemic respiratory disease was evident. Over several decades, the US military elucidated etiologies of acute respiratory diseases and invented and deployed vaccines to prevent disease caused by influenza, meningococcus, and adenoviruses.

Limitations in qualitative point of care hCG tests for detecting early pregnancy.

Background: Detection of early pregnancy in the healthcare setting is important for proper patient management. Qualitative point-of-care (POC) human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) testing is often used. There is a gap in the literature for evaluating patient samples with low (<300 IU/l) hCG concentration using POC devices.

US Military contributions to the global response to pandemic chikungunya.

Chikungunya virus, transmitted by mosquitoes to man, causes an acute illness characterized by fever, rash and striking joint symptoms. US Military investigators developed, manufactured at The Salk Institute-Government Services Division (TSI-GSD), and tested the live, attenuated Chikungunya Vaccine TSI-GSD-218. The manufacturing facility stopped production in 1994.

Comparison of Sebia Capillarys Flex capillary electrophoresis with the BioRad Variant II high pressure liquid chromatography in the evaluation of hemoglobinopathies.

Background: There are multiple biochemical screening techniques for assessing hemoglobinopathies. Here we compare a new instrument, the Sebia Capillarys Flex (capillary zone electrophoresis (CE)), with the BioRad Variant II (high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) in the evaluation of hemoglobinopathies.

Methods: This was a retrospective study using 174 whole blood samples encompassing the 5 most common (Hb A, A2', S, C, and E) and 10 rare (Hb G(Philidelphia), D, H, Bart's, O(Arab), S/G(Philidelphia), Hasharoon, Q(India), N(Baltimore), and Malmo) hemoglobin variants.

Initial assessment of impact of adenovirus type 4 and type 7 vaccine on febrile respiratory illness and virus transmission in military basic trainees, March 2012.

After a 12-year hiatus, military recruit training centers resumed administration of adenovirus type 4 and type 7 vaccine, live, oral (adenovirus vaccine) to trainees beginning in October of 2011. Subsequently, rates of febrile respiratory illnesses (FRI) and adenovirus isolations markedly declined. These findings are consistent with those of a placebo-controlled efficacy trial conducted prior to the vaccine's licensure by the U.

Estimated global incidence of Japanese encephalitis: a systematic review.

Objective: To update the estimated global incidence of Japanese encephalitis (JE) using recent data for the purpose of guiding prevention and control efforts.

Methods: Thirty-two areas endemic for JE in 24 Asian and Western Pacific countries were sorted into 10 incidence groups on the basis of published data and expert opinion. Population-based surveillance studies using laboratory-confirmed cases were sought for each incidence group by a computerized search of the scientific literature.

Infectious diseases investment decision evaluation algorithm: a quantitative algorithm for prioritization of naturally occurring infectious disease threats to the U.S. military.

Identification of the most significant infectious disease threats to deployed U.S. military forces is important for developing and maintaining an appropriate countermeasure research and development portfolio.

History of U.S. military contributions to the study of viral encephalitis.

The viral encephalitides represent 15% (9 of 62) of the infectious diseases identified by the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center as being of U.S. military operational importance.

Work site, physician's office, or medical university clinic: the effect of setting on success in a multidisciplinary weight-loss program.

The effect of treatment setting on success in a 16-week multidisciplinary cognitive-behavioral weight-management program was examined. Twenty-seven women and six men with an average initial weight of 198.13 lb (+/-39.

Vaccination of human volunteers with monovalent and tetravalent live-attenuated dengue vaccine candidates.

Four serotypes of monovalent live attenuated dengue virus vaccine candidates were tested for reactogenicity and immunogenicity in 49 flavivirus non-immune adult human volunteers. The four monovalent candidates were then combined into a tetravalent formulation and given to another 10 volunteers. Neutralizing antibody seroconversion rates after a single-dose monovalent vaccination ranged from 53% to 100%.

Phase 1 studies of Walter Reed Army Institute of Research candidate attenuated dengue vaccines: selection of safe and immunogenic monovalent vaccines.

We describe the results of initial safety testing of 10 live-attenuated dengue virus (DENV) vaccine candidates modified by serial passage in primary dog kidney (PDK) cells at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. The Phase 1 studies, conducted in 65 volunteers, were designed to select an attenuated vaccine candidate for each DENV serotype. No recipient of the DENV candidate vaccines sustained serious injury or required treatment.

Modification of dengue virus strains by passage in primary dog kidney cells: preparation of candidate vaccines and immunization of monkeys.

Dengue (DENV) virus strains for each of the four DENV serotypes were modified by passage in primary dog kidney (PDK) cell cultures with final manufacture of vaccine lots in fetal rhesus monkey diploid cell cultures. "Strain sets" consisting of serially-passaged DENV were inoculated in rhesus monkeys along with unmodified parent viruses for each strain. Vaccine candidates were compared with unmodified parent viruses by measuring viremia and immune responses.

Light propagation in variable-refractive-index materials with liquid-crystal-infiltrated microcavities.

A liquid-crystal-infiltrated microcavity structure is proposed as a variable-refractive-index material. It has the advantages over previously considered nanostructured materials of having a larger phase-angle change and lower driving voltage. Two-dimensional liquid-crystal director and finite-difference time-domain optical simulations are used to select liquid crystal material parameters and optimize the dimension of the microcavity structured material.