Integrated Quality of Service for Offline and Online Services in Edge Networks via Task Offloading and Service Caching.

Edge servers frequently manage their own offline digital twin (DT) services, in addition to caching online digital twin services. However, current research often overlooks the impact of offline caching services on memory and computation resources, which can hinder the efficiency of online service task processing on edge servers. In this study, we concentrated on service caching and task offloading within a collaborative edge computing system by emphasizing the integrated quality of service (QoS) for both online and offline edge services.

Diffusion-Weighted MRI for Predicting Pathologic Complete Response in Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy.

This study tested the hypothesis that a change in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measured in diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) is an independent imaging marker, and ADC performs better than functional tumor volume (FTV) for assessing treatment response in patients with locally advanced breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant immunotherapy. A total of 249 patients were randomized to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy with pembrolizumab (pembro) or without pembrolizumab (control). DCE-MRI and DWI, performed prior to and 3 weeks after the start of treatment, were analyzed.

Multisite concordance of apparent diffusion coefficient measurements across the NCI Quantitative Imaging Network.

Diffusion weighted MRI has become ubiquitous in many areas of medicine, including cancer diagnosis and treatment response monitoring. Reproducibility of diffusion metrics is essential for their acceptance as quantitative biomarkers in these areas. We examined the variability in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) obtained from both postprocessing software implementations utilized by the NCI Quantitative Imaging Network and online scan time-generated ADC maps.

Breast Background Parenchymal Enhancement on Screening Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Women Who Received Chest Radiotherapy for Childhood Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

Rationale And Objectives: Breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is recommended for the screening of women with a history of chest radiotherapy and consequent increased breast cancer risk. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of prior chest radiotherapy on breast tissue background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) at screening breast MRI.

Materials And Methods: A departmental database was reviewed to identify asymptomatic women with either a history of chest radiotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma or age-matched controls who underwent screening breast MRI between 2009 and 2013.

Quantitative assessment of mobile protein levels in human knee synovial fluid: feasibility of chemical exchange saturation transfer (proteinCEST) MRI of osteoarthritis.

Purpose: To establish the feasibility of chemical exchange saturation transfer (proteinCEST) MRI in the differentiation of osteoarthritis (OA) knee joints from non-OA joints by detecting mobile protein and peptide levels in synovial fluid by determining their relative distribution.

Materials And Methods: A total of 25 knees in 11 men and 12 women with knee injuries were imaged using whole knee joint proteinCEST MRI sequence at 3 T. The joint synovial fluid was segmented and the asymmetric magnetization transfer ratio at 3.

Phase II clinical trial of sorafenib in metastatic medullary thyroid cancer.

Purpose: Mutations in the RET proto-oncogene and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) activity are critical in the pathogenesis of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). Sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor targeting Ret and VEGFR, showed antitumor activity in preclinical studies of MTC.

Patients And Methods: In this phase II trial of sorafenib in patients with advanced MTC, the primary end point was objective response.

Intraindividual in vivo comparison of gadolinium contrast agents for pharmacokinetic analysis using dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose: To compare the intraindividual differences of dynamic signal characteristics for 3 gadolinium chelates (gadopentetate dimeglumine [Gd-DTPA], gadodiamide [Gd-DTPA-BMA], and gadobenate dimeglumine [Gd-BOPTA]) using dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (DCE-MRI) with a preclinical beagle model at 7 Tesla.

Method And Materials: Seven beagles were scanned 3 times each with a 7-day interval between the scans on a 7T whole body MRI system (Achieva, Philips) using a T/R head coil. Three different Gd contrast agents including Gd-DTPA, Gd-DTPABMA, and Gd-BOPTA were injected in a randomized order with a power injector (Spectris, MedRad, Indianola, PA) using dose of 0.

Phase II trial of sorafenib in metastatic thyroid cancer.

Purpose: Based on the pivotal role of Ras-Raf-MAP-ERK signaling and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), we conducted a phase II clinical trial of sorafenib targeting RAF and VEGF receptor kinases in PTC.

Patients And Methods: The primary end point was the objective response rate. Secondary end points included response correlation with serum thyroglobulin (Tg); functional imaging; tumor genotype; and signaling inhibition in tumor biopsies.

Colorectal liver metastases: contrast agent diffusion coefficient for quantification of contrast enhancement heterogeneity at MR imaging.

Purpose: To describe and determine the reproducibility of a simplified model to quantitatively measure heterogeneous intralesion contrast agent diffusion in colorectal liver metastases.

Materials And Methods: This HIPAA-compliant retrospective study received institutional review board approval, and written informed consent was obtained from 14 patients (mean age, 61 years +/- 9 [standard deviation]; range, 41-78 years), including 10 men (mean age, 65 years +/- 8; range, 47-78 years) and four women (mean age, 54 years +/- 9; range, 41-59 years), with colorectal liver metastases. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed twice (first baseline MR image [B(1)] and second baseline MR image [B(2)]) in a single target lesion prior to therapy.

Improving the pharmacokinetic parameter measurement in dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI by use of the arterial input function: theory and clinical application.

One of the most powerful features of the dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI technique is its capability to quantitatively measure the physiological or pathophysiological environments assessed by the passage of contrast agent by means of model-based pharmacokinetic analysis. The widely used two-compartment pharmacokinetic model developed by Brix and colleges fits tumor data well in most cases, but fails to explain the biexponential arterial input function. In this work, this problem has been attacked from a theoretical point of view, showing that this problem can be solved by adopting a more realistic model assumption when simplifying the general solutions of the two-compartment pharmacokinetic equations.

Dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging as a biological marker to noninvasively assess the effect of finasteride on prostatic suburethral microcirculation.

Purpose: We assessed dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging as a biological marker of in vivo changes in microcirculation in the prostatic suburethral region.

Materials And Methods: A total of 12 male beagle dogs with spontaneous benign prostatic hyperplasia were randomly allocated to 1 control group and 1 finasteride (Merck and Co., Whitehouse Station, New Jersey) treated group.