Ultrasound-Based Local Lung Motion Assessment Using Synthetic Lateral Phase.

Background: Ultrasound lung surface motion measurement is valuable for the evaluation of a variety of diseases. Speckle tracking or Doppler-based techniques are limited by the loss of visualization as a tracked point moves under ribs or is dependent.

Methods: We developed a synthetic lateral phase-based algorithm for tracking lung motion to overcome these limitations.

Prevalence of High-Risk CTA-Based Carotid Plaque-RADS Subtypes in Patients With Embolic Stroke of Undetermined Source.

Background: A modified computed tomography angiography (CTA)-based Carotid Plaque Reporting and Data System (Plaque-RADS) classification was applied to a cohort of patients with embolic stroke of undetermined source to test whether high-risk Plaque-RADS subtypes are more prevalent on the ipsilateral side of stroke. With the widespread use of CTA for stroke evaluation, a CTA-based Plaque-RADS would be valuable for generalizability.

Methods: A retrospective observational cross-sectional study was conducted at a single integrated health system comprised of 3 hospitals with a comprehensive stroke center between October 1, 2015, and April 1, 2017.

CBGTPy: An extensible cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic framework for modeling biological decision making.

Here we introduce CBGTPy, a virtual environment for designing and testing goal-directed agents with internal dynamics that are modeled on the cortico-basal-ganglia-thalamic (CBGT) pathways in the mammalian brain. CBGTPy enables researchers to investigate the internal dynamics of the CBGT system during a variety of tasks, allowing for the formation of testable predictions about animal behavior and neural activity. The framework has been designed around the principle of flexibility, such that many experimental parameters in a decision making paradigm can be easily defined and modified.

Interventions used to reduce infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals-a review.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for improved infectious aerosol concentrations through interventions that reduce the transmission of airborne infections. The aims of this review were to map the existing literature on interventions used to improve infectious aerosol concentrations in hospitals and understand challenges in their implementation.

Methods: We reviewed peer-reviewed articles identified on three databases, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library from inception to July 2024.

Energy of Functional Brain States Correlates With Cognition in Adolescent-Onset Schizophrenia and Healthy Persons.

Adolescent-onset schizophrenia (AOS) is relatively rare, under-studied, and associated with more severe cognitive impairments and poorer outcomes than adult-onset schizophrenia. Neuroimaging has shown altered regional activations (first-order effects) and functional connectivity (second-order effects) in AOS compared to controls. The pairwise maximum entropy model (MEM) integrates first- and second-order factors into a single quantity called energy, which is inversely related to probability of occurrence of brain activity patterns.