Systematic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 reveals dynamics of variant mutagenesis and transmission in a large urban population.

Highly mutable pathogens generate viral diversity that impacts virulence, transmissibility, treatment, and thwarts acquired immunity. We previously described C19-SPAR-Seq, a high-throughput, next-generation sequencing platform to detect SARS-CoV-2 that we here deployed to systematically profile variant dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 for over 3 years in a large, North American urban environment (Toronto, Canada). Sequencing of the ACE2 receptor binding motif and polybasic furin cleavage site of the Spike gene in over 70,000 patients revealed that population sweeps of canonical variants of concern (VOCs) occurred in repeating wavelets.

Hybrid Somatostatin Receptor PET/MRI of the Head and Neck.

Hybrid PET/MRI has the potential to transform neuro-oncologic imaging, particularly in diagnosis and treatment planning of somatostatin receptor-expressing tumors of the head and neck. Hybrid PET/MRI combines high-resolution MRI with functional information from PET, providing precise anatomic information and overcoming difficulties in localization inherent to PET alone. There is a range of tumors in the head and neck that overexpress somatostatin receptors and are therefore amenable to evaluation with somatostatin receptor PET/MRI.

Intranasal HD-Ad-FS vaccine induces systemic and airway mucosal immunities against SARS-CoV-2 and systemic immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants in mice and hamsters.

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has highlighted the demand for vaccines that are safe and effective in inducing systemic and airway mucosal immunity against the aerosol transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this study, we developed a novel helper-dependent adenoviral vector-based COVID-19 mucosal vaccine encoding a full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (HD-Ad-FS). Through intranasal immunization (single-dose and prime-boost regimens), we demonstrated that the HD-Ad-FS was immunogenic and elicited potent systemic and airway mucosal protection in BALB/c mice, transgenic ACE2 (hACE2) mice, and hamsters.

Effect of PSMA PET/CT on the Use of Bone Scintigraphy for Prostate Cancer at a University Hospital System.

We observed at our university-based imaging centers that when prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT became available for staging and restaging prostate cancer, the volume of bone scanning on patients with prostate cancer (BS-P) markedly decreased. We aimed to study use patterns of PSMA PET/CT and BS-P at our imaging centers during the 4-y period around U.S.

Navigating Diagnostic Challenges: A Case of Acquired Hepatocerebral Degeneration Presenting as Worsening Hepatic Encephalopathy in Chronic Liver Disease.

Unlabelled: This case report details the complex diagnostic odyssey of a 60-year-old female grappling with chronic liver disease, initially diagnosed with hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Despite initial treatment with lactulose and rifaximin, her neurological symptoms worsened, leading to the identification of concurrent acquired hepatocerebral degeneration (AHD). This condition is characterised by cognitive decline, movement disorders and distinctive imaging abnormalities.