Advanced Imaging Techniques for Assessing Fat, Iron, and Fibrosis in Chronic Liver Disease.

Imaging plays a critical role in the management of chronic liver disease (CLD) because it is a safe and painless method to assess liver health. The widely used imaging techniques include ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. These techniques allow the measurement of fat deposition, iron content, and fibrosis, replacing invasive liver biopsies in many cases.

Phage biocontrol in water treatment and reuse systems: a nascent field with significant innovation opportunities.

While the use of phages in the food and biomedical sectors occurs commercially, their application in the water sector is less common and is typically demonstrated at a lower technological readiness level. This is so despite the potential that phages have to enhance the control of problematic bacteria (including pathogens) and protect infrastructure within the water sector. Fulfilling the great potential of this nascent field requires more research and development.

Addressing Inter-reconstruction variability in multi-energy myocardial CT Radiomics: The Benefits of combat harmonization.

Rationale And Objectives: To investigate the effect of ComBat harmonization on the stability of myocardial radiomic features derived from multi-energy CT reconstructions.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 205 patients who underwent dual-energy chest CTA at a single center. The data was reconstructed into multiple spectral reconstructions (mixed energy simulating standard 120 Kv acquisition and monoenergetic images ranging from 40 to 190 keV in increments of 10).

Editorial Note: Strategic engineering and functional mechanism elucidation of advanced materials in adsorption and catalysis for detoxification of contaminated water matrices.

Uncontrolled anthropogenic activities have contaminated water resources with emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, microplastics, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and heavy metals, making them unsuitable for living ecosystems. Emerging contaminants pose a severe threat to ecosystems. Hence water treatment methods through improved efficiencies are essential for removing these contaminants at ease of application and at low energy.

Development of a rapid, culture-free, universal microbial identification system using internal transcribed spacer targeting primers.

The indiscriminate administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics is a primary contributor to the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Unfortunately, culture, the gold standard for bacterial identification is a time intensive process. Due to this extended diagnostic period, broad-spectrum antibiotics are generally prescribed to prevent poor outcomes.

Enterocolic Lymphocytic Phlebitis Masquerading as a Malignant Stricture in the Caecum: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Enterocolic lymphocytic phlebitis (ELP) is an idiopathic form of venous inflammation that is limited to the gastrointestinal tract. It is characterised by inflammation of the veins with no involvement of the arteries. Usually, it presents with gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, and imaging may suggest malignancy.

A practical approach to the post esophagectomy CT: expected postoperative anatomy and anatomical approach to associated complication.

This pictorial review aims to provide a structured approach to the interpretation of post esophagectomy CT by reviewing the major esophagectomy surgeries and conduit reconstructions, along with their associated complications at key anatomical landmarks. This paper combines an image rich experience and evidence-based approach to common and rare complications. The paper begins with an overview of the conventional Ivor Lewis esophagectomy and the expected postoperative imaging appearance (with separate detailed tables on additional surgical reconstructions), followed by a focused review of various complications at specific anatomical sites in a systematic fashion.

A Deep Dive into the N-Terminus of STIM Proteins: Structure-Function Analysis and Evolutionary Significance of the Functional Domains.

Calcium is an important second messenger that is involved in almost all cellular processes. Disruptions in the regulation of intracellular Ca levels ([Ca]) adversely impact normal physiological function and can contribute to various diseased conditions. STIM and Orai proteins play important roles in maintaining [Ca] through store-operated Ca entry (SOCE), with STIM being the primary regulatory protein that governs the function of Orai channels.

Jointly benchmarking small and structural variant calls with vcfdist.

In this work, we extend vcfdist to be the first variant call benchmarking tool to jointly evaluate phased single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), small insertions/deletions (INDELs), and structural variants (SVs) for the whole genome. First, we find that a joint evaluation of small and structural variants uniformly reduces measured errors for SNPs (- 28.9%), INDELs (- 19.

Lessons to Learn From 36 Cases of Well-Leg Compartment Syndrome in Colorectal Surgery: A Systematic Literature Review.

Well-leg compartment syndrome is a rare and severe complication that occurs after prolonged surgery in the lithotomy position. This review outlines the presentation, diagnosis, and management of well-leg compartment syndrome after colorectal surgery. A comprehensive and systematic search of various electronic databases was conducted.

Does the optimal level of illumination improve both visual functions and visual comfort in schoolchildren with low vision?

Lighting modification is commonly performed by optometrists and occupational therapists to enhance visibility and visual comfort among schoolchildren with low vision. The purpose of this study is to determine the optimal illumination level for visual function and visual comfort of schoolchildren with low vision and the relationship between them. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess five levels of illumination ranging from 125 lux to 2000 lux to determine the optimal illumination for visual functions and visual comfort in schoolchildren with low vision from a special education school for blind in Malaysia.

Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Gastric Volume Measurement in a Pediatric Patient-Look Beyond the Antrum: A Case Report.

Gastric ultrasound estimates stomach contents in perioperative patients. A 10-year-old boy with abdominal rhabdomyosarcoma, who received abdominal radiation, developed gastroparesis and was scheduled for endoscopic gastrointestinal pyloric dilation. Point-of-care gastric ultrasound revealed gastric antral cross-sectional area of 6.

The use of point of care gastric ultrasound and anesthesia management in pediatric patients with preoperative fasting non-adherence scheduled for elective surgical procedures: a retrospective study.

Background: Failure to adhere to perioperative fasting requirements increases aspiration risk and can lead to delay or cancellation of surgery. Point of care gastric ultrasound may guide decision-making to delay, cancel or proceed with surgery.

Methods: This study aimed to describe gastric contents using point of care gastric ultrasound in pediatric patients with known fasting guideline violations presenting for elective surgery.

Heteroatom doped biochar-aluminosilicate composite as a green alternative for the removal of hazardous dyes: Functional characterization and modeling studies.

In this work, a novel nitrogen-doped biochar bentonite composite was synthesized by a single-pot co-pyrolysis method. Batch studies were conducted to evaluate the performance of the developed composite in eliminating synthetic dyes from the aqueous matrix. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis and field emission scanning electron microscopy imaging confirmed the N doping and bentonite impregnation into biochar.

Assessing Residual Gastric Fluid Volume after Administering Diluted Oral Contrast until One Hour Prior to Anesthesia in Children: An Observational Cohort Study.

Gastric fluid volume has been used as a surrogate marker for pulmonary aspiration risk in studies evaluating fasting protocol safety. This study measured residual gastric fluid volume in children using a protocol in which diluted oral contrast medium was administered up until one hour before anesthesia. This was a single-center prospective observational cohort trial of 70 children for elective abdominal/pelvic computed tomography (CT).

Development and validation of a novel questionnaire regarding vision screening among preschool teachers in Malaysia.

Aim: To develop and evaluate the validity and reliability of a knowledge, attitude, and practice questionnaire related to vision screening (KAP-VST) among preschool teachers in Malaysia.

Methods: The questionnaire was developed through a literature review and discussions with experts. Content and face validation were conducted by a panel of experts (=10) and preschool teachers (=10), respectively.

Imaging of pulmonary infections encountered in the emergency department in post-COVID 19 era- common, rare and exotic. Bacterial and viral.

Pulmonary infections contribute substantially to emergency department (ED) visits, posing a considerable health burden. Lower respiratory tract infections are prevalent, particularly among the elderly, constituting a significant percentage of infectious disease-related ED visits. Timely recognition and treatment are crucial to mitigate morbidity and mortality.

Essential role of N-terminal SAM regions in STIM1 multimerization and function.

The single-pass transmembrane protein Stromal Interaction Molecule 1 (STIM1), located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, possesses two main functions: It senses the ER-Ca concentration and directly binds to the store-operated Ca channel Orai1 for its activation when Ca recedes. At high resting ER-Ca concentration, the ER-luminal STIM1 domain is kept monomeric but undergoes di/multimerization once stores are depleted. Luminal STIM1 multimerization is essential to unleash the STIM C-terminal binding site for Orai1 channels.