Diverticulosis and neoplastic lesions in screening colonoscopy: a large, multicenter study.

Background: Data on the potential association between diverticulosis and colonic neoplastic lesions are still controversial. We investigated this issue in subjects who underwent screening colonoscopy.

Methods: We reviewed the data of subjects with a positive fecal immunological test who underwent a first colonoscopy in the national colorectal screening program.

Breast cancers that disseminate to bone marrow acquire aggressive phenotypes through CX43-related tumor-stroma tunnels.

Estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer commonly disseminates to bone marrow, where interactions with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) shape disease trajectory. We modeled these interactions with tumor-MSC co-cultures and used an integrated transcriptome-proteome-network-analyses workflow to identify a comprehensive catalog of contact-induced changes. Conditioned media from MSCs failed to recapitulate genes and proteins, some borrowed and others tumor-intrinsic, induced in cancer cells by direct contact.

Early three-dimensional growth in uncomplicated type B aortic dissection is associated with long-term outcomes.

Objective: Late adverse events (LAEs) are common among initially uncomplicated type B aortic dissection (uTBAD); however, identifying those patients at highest risk of LAEs remains a significant challenge. Early false lumen (FL) growth has been suggested to increase risk, but confident determination of growth is often hampered by error in two-dimensional clinical measurements. Semi-automated three-dimensional (3D) mapping of aortic growth, such as by vascular deformation mapping (VDM), can potentially overcome this limitation using computed tomography angiograms (CTA).

A General Bayesian Functional Spatial Partitioning Method for Multiple Region Discovery Applied to Prostate Cancer MRI.

Current protocols to estimate the number, size, and location of cancerous lesions in the prostate using multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) are highly dependent on reader experience and expertise. Automatic voxel-wise cancer classifiers do not directly provide estimates of number, location, and size of cancerous lesions that are clinically important. Existing spatial partitioning methods estimate linear or piecewise-linear boundaries separating regions of local stationarity in spatially registered data and are inadequate for the application of lesion detection.

Use of High-Frequency Ultrasound for the Correlation of Epithelial Rete Peg Variation.

Objective: Rete pegs are projections of the oral epithelium into connective tissue. Their dimensions change during pathological conditions and may correlate with wound-healing status. Non-invasive, high-frequency ultrasound (US) may be able to capture these changes and aid in early detection of histopathological changes.

Implementing a rapid cord compression Magnetic Resonance Imaging protocol in the emergency department: Lessons learned.

Background & Purpose: (1) Evaluate efficacy of an abbreviated total spine protocol in triaging emergency department (ED) patients through retrospective evaluation. (2) Describe patient outcomes following implementation of a rapid cord compression protocol.

Methods: (1) All contrast-enhanced total spine magnetic resonance imaging studies (MRIs) performed on ED patients ( = 75) between 10/1-12/31/2022 for evaluation of cord compression were included.

LRRK2 mediates haloperidol-induced changes in indirect pathway striatal projection neurons.

Haloperidol is used to manage psychotic symptoms in several neurological disorders through mechanisms that involve antagonism of dopamine D2 receptors that are highly expressed in the striatum. Significant side effects of haloperidol, known as extrapyramidal symptoms, lead to motor deficits similar to those seen in Parkinson's disease and present a major challenge in clinical settings. The underlying molecular mechanisms responsible for these side effects remain poorly understood.

Effects of a medical admission unit on in-hospital patient flow and clinical outcomes.

Background: the burden of acute complex patients, increasingly older and poli-pathological, accessing to Emergency Departments (ED) leads up hospital overcrowding and the outlying phenomenon. These issues highlight the need for new adequate patients' management strategies. The aim of this study is to analyse the effects on in-hospital patient flow and clinical outcomes of a high-technology and time-limited Medical Admission Unit (MAU) run by internists.

Comparison of image quality and diagnostic efficacy of routine clinical lumbar spine imaging at 0.55T and 1.5/3T.

Purpose: To compare image quality, assess inter-reader variability, and evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of routine clinical lumbar spine sequences at 0.55T compared with those collected at 1.5/3T to assess common spine pathology.

Gold nanoshells for prostate cancer treatment: evidence for deposition in abdominal organs.

Purpose: Gold-silica nanoshell therapy [AuroShells with subsequent focal laser therapy (AuroLase)] is an emerging targeted treatment modality for prostate cancer. We reviewed pre- and post-treatment unenhanced CT imaging to assess for retained gold-silica nanoshells in the abdomen and pelvis.

Methods: This single-institution retrospective study identified patients in the AuroLase pilot who underwent pre- and post-treatment unenhanced abdominopelvic CT.

Abdominal MRI on a Commercial 0.55T System: Initial Evaluation and Comparison to Higher Field Strengths.

Rationale And Objectives: This study aims to assess the quality of abdominal MR images acquired on a commercial 0.55T scanner and compare these images with those acquired on conventional 1.5T/3T scanners in both healthy subjects and patients.

Clinical Outcomes after Median Arcuate Ligament Release in Patients Responsive to Celiac Plexus Block.

Purpose: To determine if symptom relief with celiac plexus block (CPB) is associated with favorable clinical outcomes after median arcuate ligament release (MALR) surgery.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective review was performed from January 2000 to December 2021. Fifty-seven patients (42 women, 15 men; mean age, 43 years [range, 18-84 years]) with clinical and radiographic features suggestive of median arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS) underwent computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous CPB for suspected MALS.

DIMPLE: An R package to quantify, visualize, and model spatial cellular interactions from multiplex imaging with distance matrices.

A major challenge in the spatial analysis of multiplex imaging (MI) data is choosing how to measure cellular spatial interactions and how to relate them to patient outcomes. Existing methods to quantify cell-cell interactions do not scale to the rapidly evolving technical landscape, where both the number of unique cell types and the number of images in a dataset may be large. We propose a scalable analytical framework and accompanying R package, DIMPLE, to quantify, visualize, and model cell-cell interactions in the TME.

Validation of the Minnesota Pectoralis Risk Score to predict mortality in the HeartMate 3 population.

Background: The Minnesota Pectoralis Risk Score (MPRS) utilizes computed tomography-quantified thoracic muscle and clinical variables to predict survival after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. The model has not been prospectively tested in HeartMate 3 recipients.

Methods: A single-center HeartMate 3 cohort from July 2016 to July 2021 (n = 108) was utilized for this analysis.

Quality assessment of routine brain imaging at 0.55 T: initial experience in a clinical workflow.

The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of clinical brain imaging in healthy subjects and patients on an FDA-approved commercial 0.55 T MRI scanner, and to provide information about the feasibility of using this scanner in a clinical workflow. In this IRB-approved study, brain examinations on the scanner were prospectively performed in 10 healthy subjects (February-April 2022) and retrospectively derived from 44 patients (February-July 2022).

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing BioMime Sirolimus-Eluting Stent With Everolimus-Eluting Stent: Two-Year Outcomes of the meriT-V Trial.

Background: Drug-eluting stents (DESs) based on biodegradable polymers (BPs) have been introduced to reduce the risk for late and very late stent thrombosis (ST), which were frequently observed with earlier generations of DES designs based on durable polymers (DPs); however, randomized controlled trials on these DES designs are scarce. The meriT-V trial is a randomized, active-controlled, non-inferiority trial with a prospective, multicenter design that evaluated the 2-year efficacy of a novel third-generation, ultra-thin strut, BP-based BioMime sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) versus the DP-based XIENCE everolimus-eluting stent (EES) for the treatment of lesions.

Methods: The meriT-V is a randomized trial that enrolled 256 patients at 15 centers across Europe and Brazil.

Association between calculated panel reactive antibody and waitlist outcomes in the 2018 heart allocation system.

Background: The impact of heart transplant (HT) waitlist candidate sensitization on waitlist outcomes in the US is unknown.

Methods: Adult waitlist outcomes in OPTN (October 2018-September 2022) by calculated panel reactive antibody (cPRA) were modeled to identify thresholds of clinical significance. The primary outcome was the rate of HT by cPRA category (low: 0-35, middle: >35-90, high: >90) assessed using multivariable competing risk analysis (compete: waitlist removal for death or clinical deterioration).

Sex-Specific Outcomes of Candidates Listed as the Highest Priority Status for Heart Transplantation.

Background: While sex differences in heart transplantation (HT) waitlist mortality have been previously described, waitlist and HT outcomes by sex of patients in the highest urgency strata (Status 1) since implementation of the 2018 allocation system change in the United States are unknown. We hypothesized that women listed as Status 1 may have worse outcomes due to adverse events on temporary mechanical circulatory support.

Methods: The analysis included adult, single-organ HT waitlist candidates listed as Status 1 at any time while listed, after the HT allocation system change (from October 18, 2018 through March 31, 2022).

Clinical profile and prognosis of young patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction managed by the emergency-intervention Codi IAM network.

Introduction And Objectives: Data on the clinical profile and outcomes of younger patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is scarce. This study compared clinical characteristics and outcomes between patients aged<45 years and those aged ≥ 45 years with STEMI managed by the acute myocardial infarction code (AMI Code) network. Sex-based differences in the younger cohort were also analyzed.

Assessment of U.S. heart transplantation equity as a function of race: Observational analyses of the OPTN database.

Background: Racial disparities in heart transplantation (HT) outcomes are suspected but uncertain. The additional impact of a recent change in donor allocation on disparities in HT in the United States (US) is unknown. We hypothesize racial disparities in HT are present and may be worsened by new allocation practices.

Optogenetic dephosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5 bisphosphate in Xenopus laevis oocytes.

Here, we present a protocol for optogenetic dephosphorylation of the phosphoinositide PI(4,5)P at the plasma membrane of Xenopus laevis oocytes. We first describe the co-injection of oocytes with cRNAs encoding (1) a light-activated PI(4,5)P 5-phosphatase fusion protein, (2) its dimerization partner fused to the plasma membrane, and (3) the potassium channel reporter for PI(4,5)P dephosphorylation. We then detail blue light illumination to induce PI(4,5)P dephosphorylation, combined with simultaneous two-electrode voltage clamp electrophysiological recording to assess potassium channel current responses.