Assessment of the Child-Pugh Score, Model for End-Stage Liver Disease Score, Fibrosis-4 Index, and AST to Platelet Ratio Index as Non-endoscopic Predictors of the Presence of Esophageal Varices and Variceal Bleeding in Chronic Liver Disease Patients.

Background Esophageal varices (EVs) develop as a complication of chronic liver disease and, when left unaddressed, can lead to variceal hemorrhage manifesting as severe hematemesis and occasionally, melena. Due to its frequent negative associations, early diagnosis and the implementation of non-selective beta blocker primary prophylaxis are imperative. Although upper gastrointestinal endoscopy has historically been used to image and identify EVs, patients frequently find this intrusive treatment to be uncomfortable and burdensome.

Feasibility of fetal cardiac function and anatomy assessment by real-time spiral balanced steady-state free precession magnetic resonance imaging at 0.55T.

Background: Contemporary 0.55T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is promising for fetal MRI, due to the larger bore, reduced safety concerns, lower acoustic noise, and improved fast imaging capability. In this work, we explore improved fetal cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) without relying on any synchronizing devices, prospective, or retrospective gating, to determine the feasibility of real-time MRI evaluation of fetal cardiac function as well as cardiac and great vessel anatomies by using spiral balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) at 0.

Single breath-hold volumetric lung imaging at 0.55T using stack-of-spiral (SoS) out-in balanced SSFP.

Purpose: To develop a robust single breath-hold approach for volumetric lung imaging at 0.55T.

Method: A balanced-SSFP (bSSFP) pulse sequence with 3D stack-of-spiral (SoS) out-in trajectory for volumetric lung imaging at 0.

The Pivotal Role of One-Carbon Metabolism in Neoplastic Progression During the Aging Process.

One-carbon (1C) metabolism is a complex network of metabolic reactions closely related to producing 1C units (as methyl groups) and utilizing them for different anabolic processes, including nucleotide synthesis, methylation, protein synthesis, and reductive metabolism. These pathways support the high proliferative rate of cancer cells. While drugs that target 1C metabolism (like methotrexate) have been used for cancer treatment, they often have significant side effects.