Remnant Cholesterol and Carotid Intraplaque Neovascularization Assessed by Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography in Patients With Ischemic Stroke.

Background: We investigated the relationship between remnant cholesterol and carotid intraplaque neovascularization (IPN) assessed by contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in patients with ischemic stroke.

Methods: This was a single-center study. Remnant cholesterol is calculated as total cholesterol minus low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) minus high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C).

The Value of Left Internal Mammary Artery Flow Velocity in Predicting the Prognosis of Patients After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the value of the left internal mammary artery flow velocity (LIMAV) measured by ultrasound before coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in predicting the prognosis of patients after left internal mammary artery (LIMA) bypass grafting.

Methods: One hundred and four patients who underwent CABG with LIMA as the bridge vessel in the cardiovascular surgery department of our hospital between May 2018 and June 2019 were selected. All patients underwent transthoracic Doppler ultrasonography to measure LIMAV preoperatively.

The relationship between pre-operative right ventricular longitudinal strain and low-cardiac-output syndrome after surgical aortic valve replacement.

Objectives: This study was performed to investigate the relationship between right ventricular free wall longitudinal strain (RVFWSL) and low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS) after surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and to further explore its association with readmission within 2 years in patients who developed LCOS after SAVR.

Methods: This single-center retrospective observational study involved consecutive patients who underwent SAVR at our hospital from May 2018 to June 2020. Preoperative echocardiography was obtained within 3 days before SAVR.

Quantitative assessment of the aging corpus cavernosum by shear wave elastography.

We wanted to determine whether shear wave elastography (SWE) could be used to evaluate the aging degree of the corpus cavernosum (CC) and to identify the histological basis of changes in SWE measurements during the aging process. We performed a cross-sectional study enrolling healthy participants of different ages. We measured the Young's modulus (YM) of the penile CCs by SWE and assessed erectile function using the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5).

Radiofrequency ablation for primary hyperparathyroidism and risk factors for postablative eucalcemic parathyroid hormone elevation.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) as a treatment option for primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) and risk factors for postablative eucalcemic parathyroid hormone elevation (ePTH).

Methods: This retrospective study included 51 patients with pHPT who underwent RFA. The patients were divided into the ePTH and normal PTH groups, based on the serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) level one month after ablation.

Comparative analysis of the quantitative parameter method and elasticity color mode method for real-time shear wave elastography in the diagnosis of benign and malignant solid breast lesions.

Objective: To examine the performance of real-time shear wave elastography (RT-SWE) in routine clinical practice.

Methods: This was a prospective study of 500 patients. The elasticity color mode method was judged by a four-mode system.

Application of multimodal ultrasonography for differentiating benign and malignant cervical lymphadenopathy.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of multimodal ultrasonography, including SWE and CEUS, for the differentiation of benign and malignant cervical lymphadenopathy.

Methods: A total of 103 patients with 109 enlarged neck lymph nodes underwent SWE and CEUS. There were 25 hyperplastic lymph nodes, 66 metastatic lymph nodes, and 18 cases of lymphoma.

Suggested amendment of TI-RADS classification of thyroid nodules by shear wave elastography.

Background: The application of the ultrasound elastography and Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TI-RADS) classification further expands the scope of ultrasound differential diagnosis between benign and malignant thyroid nodules.

Purpose: To investigate the value of the quantitative parameter of ultrasonic shear waves in optimizing the TI-RADS classification of thyroid nodules.

Material And Methods: A total of 168 thyroid nodules, initially classified using TI-RADS and scanned by shear wave elastography (SWE), were retrospectively analyzed.

Undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells of pancreas: A case report with review of the computed tomography findings.

Rationale: Undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells (UC-OGCs) of the pancreas is an extremely rare and aggressive pancreatic malignancy. To our knowledge, the computed tomography (CT) findings of this disease have rarely been analyzed.

Patient Concerns: A 65-year-old man who experienced weight loss of about 4 kg over 3 months presented to our clinic.

Modeling Ramp-hold Indentation Measurements based on Kelvin-Voigt Fractional Derivative Model.

Interpretation of experimental data from micro- and nano-scale indentation testing is highly dependent on the constitutive model selected to relate measurements to mechanical properties. The Kelvin-Voigt Fractional Derivative model (KVFD) offers a compact set of viscoelastic features appropriate for characterizing soft biological materials. This paper provides a set of KVFD solutions for converting indentation testing data acquired for different geometries and scales into viscoelastic properties of soft materials.

Fast Von Mises strain imaging on ultrasound carotid vessel wall by flow driven diffusion method.

The elasticity of the vessel wall is important for the clinical identification of rupture-risks. The Von Mises strain can be a potential index for the indication of carotid vessel pathologies. In this paper, a fast clinically applicable real-time algorithm from time-sequence of B-mode carotid images is developed.

Carotid Plaque Stiffness Measured with Supersonic Shear Imaging and Its Correlation with Serum Homocysteine Level in Ischemic Stroke Patients.

Objective: To ascertain the feasibility of using shear wave velocity (SWV) in assessing the stiffness of carotid plaque by supersonic shear imaging (SSI) and explore preliminary clinical value for such evaluation.

Materials And Methods: Supersonic shear imaging was performed in 142 patients with ischemic stroke, including 76 males and 66 females with mean age of 66 years (range, 45-80 years). The maximum, minimum, and mean values of SWV were measured for 129 carotid plaques.

An inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor in the transplanted liver displaying quick wash-in and wash-out on contrast-enhanced ultrasound: A case report.

Rationale: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is an uncommon mesenchymal neoplasm, and its presence in a grafted liver is exceedingly rare.

Patient Concerns: A 54-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a half-month history of intermittent melena. She had undergone deceased-donor liver transplantation (LT) for hepatitis B virus related liver cirrhosis without hepatocellular carcinoma 5 months previously.

Correlations of microvascular blood flow of contrast-enhanced ultrasound and HGF/c-Met signaling pathway with clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

The study is designed to explore the correlations of microvascular blood flow of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/c-Met signaling pathway with clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). One hundred and eighteen patients pathologically diagnosed as primary HCC were selected. All HCC patients underwent CEUS examination before operation.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound improves accurate identification of appendiceal mucinous adenocarcinoma in an old patient: A case report.

Background: Adenocarcinoma of appendiceal origin is far rarer than other colorectal carcinomas and its preoperative diagnosis is challenging. To our knowledge, utility of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to diagnose it is much less.

Method: A 61-year-old man presented with abdominal pain in the right lower quadrant for 20 days.

A novel amidase from Brevibacterium epidermidis ZJB-07021: gene cloning, refolding and application in butyrylhydroxamic acid synthesis.

A novel amidase gene (bami) was cloned from Brevibacterium epidermidis ZJB-07021 by combination of degenerate PCR and high-efficiency thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR (hiTAIL-PCR). The deduced amino acid sequence showed low identity (≤55 %) with other reported amidases. The bami gene was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and the resultant inclusion bodies were refolded and purified to homogeneity with a recovery of 22.

Mining and characterization of two amidase signature family amidases from Brevibacterium epidermidis ZJB-07021 by an efficient genome mining approach.

Amidases have received increasing attention for their significant potential in the production of valuable carboxylic acids. In this study, two amidases belonging to amidase signature family (BeAmi2 and BeAmi4) were identified and mined from genomic DNA of Brevibacterium epidermidis ZJB-07021 by an efficient strategy combining comparative analysis of genomes and identification of unknown region by high-efficiency thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR (HiTAIL-PCR). The deduced amino acid sequences of BeAmi2 and BeAmi4 showed low identity (< 40%) with other reported amidases.

Purification and characterization of R-stereospecific amidase from Brevibacterium epidermidis ZJB-07021.

A R-stereospecific amidase was purified from Brevibacterium epidermidis ZJB-07021 and characterized in detail. The amidase was purified to homogeneity by three chromatographic steps for up to 328.9-fold with specific activity of 31.

Concurrent obtaining of aromatic (R)-2-hydroxyacids and aromatic 2-ketoacids by asymmetric oxidation with a newly isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa ZJB1125.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa ZJB1125 harboring a stereoselective 2-hydroxyacid dehydrogenase (2-HADH) can catalyze asymmetric oxidation of mandelic acid and 2-chloromandelic acid into (R)-isomers and corresponding 2-ketoacids with high activity and enantioselectivity, while no consecutive oxidation of 2-ketoacids was observed during whole-cell catalysis. The 2-HADH in P. aeruginosa ZJB1125 is a FMN-dependent flavoprotein and did not require NAD(P)⁺ as cofactors to catalyze the oxidation reaction.

Color and power Doppler sonography of extracranial and intracranial arteries in Moyamoya disease.

Purpose: To study the hemodynamic characteristics of moyamoya disease with color Doppler (CD) and power Doppler (PD) sonography.

Methods: The hemodynamic parameters of intracranial and extracranial arteries from 17 patients with moyamoya disease confirmed via digital subtraction angiography and 30 healthy controls were studied with conventional and transcranial CD and PD.

Results: The moyamoya vessels were detected as scattered color Doppler signal with low velocity and a low resistance index (RI) at the base of the brain in 10 of the 17 patients.

Noninvasive quantitative testing of liver function using ultrasonography in patients with cirrhosis.

Background/aims: Chronic liver disease is characterized by progressive hepatic fibrosis and changes in hepatic hemodynamics. Although there are sufficient hemodynamic ultrasonography data about patients with liver cirrhosis, reports of combinations of these data are insufficient. This study aimed to address the possibility of noninvasive diagnosis for the degree of hepatic fibrosis by evaluating the ultrasonography score, HCI (Hepatic Circulation Index), A/P (The peak velocity of hepatic artery/The peak velocity of portal vein), and CAT (hepatic vein circulation time) in patients with cirrhosis.