Perceptions of neighborhood disorder and gun carrying during adolescence: The indirect effect of exposure to violence.

Objective: As society strives to curb gun violence among adolescents, understanding the risk factors associated with gun carrying is of critical importance. The current study seeks to examine the relationship between perceived neighborhood disorder and adolescents' susceptibility to carrying a gun to school. More specifically, the aim of the current study was threefold: (1) to examine the direct relationship between perceived neighborhood disorder and exposure to violence, (2) to investigate the association between perceived neighborhood disorder and gun carrying, and (3) to test the mediating effect of exposure to violence on the relationship between perceived neighborhood disorder and gun carrying.

Environmental Factors Predictive of No-Show Visits in Radiology: Observations of Three Million Outpatient Imaging Visits Over 16 Years.

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of environmental and socioeconomic factors on outpatient cancellations and "no-show visits" (NSVs) in radiology.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis by collecting environmental factor data related to outpatient radiology visits occurring between 2000 and 2015 at our multihospital academic institution. Appointment attendance records were joined with daily weather observations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and estimated median income from the US Census American Community Survey.

Understanding Why Patients No-Show: Observations of 2.9 Million Outpatient Imaging Visits Over 16 Years.

Purpose: To understand why patients "no-show" for imaging appointments, and to provide new insights for improving resource utilization.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of nearly 2.9 million outpatient examinations in our radiology information system from 2000 to 2015 at our multihospital academic institution.

Predictive modeling to identify scheduled radiology appointments resulting in non-attendance in a hospital setting.

No-show appointments are a troublesome, but frequent, occurrence in radiology hospital departments and private practice. Prior work in medical appointment no-show prediction has focused on general practice and has not considered features specific to the radiology environment. We collect data from 16 years of outpatient examinations in a multi-site hospital radiology department.

Evaluation of diagnostic performance of 18F-FDG-PET compared to CT in detecting potential causes of fever of unknown origin in an academic centre.

Determining the cause of fever of unknown origin (FUO) often proves challenging to attending physicians and the role of conventional imaging in this setting has been uncertain. In this retrospective study, we examined the role of fluorine-18 fluorodesoxyglucose-positron emission tomography ((18)F-FDG-PET) compared to computed tomography (CT) in diagnosing the potential etiology of FUO. To accomplish this task, we identified patients with FUO who underwent (18)F-FDG-PET for detecting the source of fever.

PET and PET/CT in the management of thyroid cancer.

The introduction of PET(-CT) has brought about a major paradigm shift in the management of thyroid carcinoma, especially from the diagnostic standpoint. From the viewpoint of patient management, the areas where it has made significant impact include the following: (1) the detection of disease focus in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma with elevated Tg levels and negative radioiodine scan. When localized disease is identified with F-18 FDG-PET-CT, surgery or focused radiotherapy could be utilized to eradicate the tumor; (2) the localization of disease in patients of MTC with elevated serum calcitonin levels; (3) the detection of unsuspected focal F-18 FDG uptake in the thyroid in patients undergoing whole body F-18 FDG PET for a different indication.

A protective role of Mer receptor tyrosine kinase in nephrotoxic serum-induced nephritis.

The Mer receptor tyrosine kinase is strongly expressed in the glomerulus. We wondered if this molecule might modify immune-mediated glomerular disease through its functions as a receptor for apoptotic cells and immunoregulatory molecule. Mer-knockout (KO) mice showed decreased survival rate and greatly increased proteinuria and serum urea levels compared to wild type (WT) mice by day 3 after injection of NTS.

F-18 FDG-PET/CT evaluation of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer with negative I-131 total body scan and high thyroglobulin level.

Purpose: The aim was to evaluate the incremental diagnostic rate of F-18 fluoro-fluorodeoxygulose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-18 FDG-PET/CT) in patients with negative I-131 whole body scans and high Tg levels. The secondary end points were correlations between F-18 FDG-PET/CT positive results and Tg levels and comparison between F-18 FDG-PET/CT accuracy in patients "on-therapy" with suppressed thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and those with high TSH levels.

Methods: We studied 52 patients who had undergone total thyroidectomy and remnant ablation; they had high Tg levels (average = 156 ng/mL; SD +/- 274) after 3 weeks of levothyroxine withdrawal and negative I-131 total body scans after therapeutic doses.

A patient with medullary thyroid carcinoma and right ventricular cardiac metastasis treated by (90)Y-Dotatoc.

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is rare derived from C cells of the thyroid gland and represents approximately 5% of all thyroid carcinomas. We report a case of a 74 years old male with MTC, diagnosed in 2002 and treated with total thyroidectomy and lymphadenectomy. A metastatic lesion was diagnosed on the right ventricle by indium-111-octreoscan, fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computerized tomography, echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, high resolution computed tomography and was confirmed by histopathology.

Imaging for the diagnosis of thyroid cancer.

Background: There has been considerable difference in the mode of the imaging procedure and approach for the workup and post-surgery surveillance of thyroid cancer. Determination of serum thyroglobulin is recommended in the follow-up for monitoring the patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Herein, the precise clinical role of individual imaging modalities is discussed, including ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and scintigraphic procedures for the diagnosis of recurrent or metastatic thyroid cancer.

Functional imaging of inflammatory diseases using nuclear medicine techniques.

Molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is increasingly used to diagnose, characterize, and monitor disease activity in the setting of inflammatory disorders of known and unknown etiology. These disorders include sarcoidosis, atherosclerosis, vasculitis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and degenerative joint disease. Gallium-67 ((67)Ga) citrate, labeled leukocytes with technetium-99m ((99m)Tc) or indium-111 ((111)In), and (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) represent the most widely used radiopharmaceutical agents.