Artificial intelligence for differentiating COVID-19 from other viral pneumonias on CT: comparative analysis of different models based on quantitative and radiomic approaches.

Background: To develop a pipeline for automatic extraction of quantitative metrics and radiomic features from lung computed tomography (CT) and develop artificial intelligence (AI) models supporting differential diagnosis between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other viral pneumonia (non-COVID-19).

Methods: Chest CT of 1,031 patients (811 for model building; 220 as independent validation set (IVS) with positive swab for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (647 COVID-19) or other respiratory viruses (384 non-COVID-19) were segmented automatically. A Gaussian model, based on the HU histogram distribution describing well-aerated and ill portions, was optimised to calculate quantitative metrics (QM, n = 20) in both lungs (2L) and four geometrical subdivisions (GS) (upper front, lower front, upper dorsal, lower dorsal; n = 80).

Diagnostic Performance in Differentiating COVID-19 from Other Viral Pneumonias on CT Imaging: Multi-Reader Analysis Compared with an Artificial Intelligence-Based Model.

Growing evidence suggests that artificial intelligence tools could help radiologists in differentiating COVID-19 pneumonia from other types of viral (non-COVID-19) pneumonia. To test this hypothesis, an R-AI classifier capable of discriminating between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 pneumonia was developed using CT chest scans of 1031 patients with positive swab for SARS-CoV-2 ( = 647) and other respiratory viruses ( = 384). The model was trained with 811 CT scans, while 220 CT scans ( = 151 COVID-19; = 69 non-COVID-19) were used for independent validation.

Effective Rapid Diagnosis of Bacterial and Fungal Bloodstream Infections by T2 Magnetic Resonance Technology in the Pediatric Population.

Children are prone to bloodstream infections (BSIs), the rapid and accurate diagnosis of which is an unmet clinical need. The T2MR technology is a direct molecular assay for identification of BSI pathogens, which can help to overcome the limits of blood culture (BC) such as diagnostic accuracy, blood volumes required, and turnaround time. We analyzed results obtained with the T2Bacteria (648) and T2Candida (106) panels in pediatric patients of the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital between May 2018 and September 2020 in order to evaluate the performance of the T2Dx instrument with respect to BC.

Advanced Glycation End Products (AGE) and Soluble Forms of AGE Receptor: Emerging Role as Mortality Risk Factors in CKD.

Advanced glycation end-products (AGE) can promote chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression and CKD-related morbidities. The soluble receptor for AGE (sRAGE) is a potential biomarker of inflammation and oxidative stress. Here, we explored the role of AGE, glycated albumin, sRAGE and its different forms, cRAGE and esRAGE, as prognostic factors for mortality in 111 advanced CKD patients.

MicroRNA profiling as a tool for pathway analysis in a human in vitro model for neural development.

MicroRNAs (miRNA) are a recently recognised class of small, non-coding RNAs involved in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression and with crucial implication for mammalian development. In particular, they play key roles in neuronal development, from early neurogenesis to neuronal differentiation and synaptic development, and also in in vitro systems. The detection of embryotoxic hazards in the preclinical phase is still a challenge, often due to species-species variations.

The Parkinson-associated protein PINK1 interacts with Beclin1 and promotes autophagy.

Mutations in the PINK1 gene cause autosomal recessive Parkinson's disease. The PINK1 gene encodes a protein kinase that is mitochondrially cleaved to generate two mature isoforms. In addition to its protective role against mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis, PINK1 is also known to regulate mitochondrial dynamics acting upstream of the PD-related protein Parkin.

A human stem cell-based model for identifying adverse effects of organic and inorganic chemicals on the developing nervous system.

The aim of our study was to investigate whether a human neural stem cell line derived from umbilical cord blood (HUCB-NSC) can serve as a reliable test model for developmental neurotoxicity (DNT). We assessed the sensitivity of HUCB-NSCs at different developmental stages to a panel of neurotoxic (sodium tellurite, methylmercury chloride, cadmium chloride, chlorpyrifos, and L-glutamate) and non-neurotoxic (acetaminophen, theophylline, and D-glutamate) compounds. In addition, we investigated the effect of some compounds on key neurodevelopmental processes like cell proliferation, apoptotic cell death, and neuronal and glial differentiation.

Redox homeostasis modulates the sensitivity of myeloma cells to bortezomib.

The use of proteasome inhibitors have been a major advance in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), but their mechanisms of action remain largely unclear. A better understanding of the cellular events downstream of proteasome inhibition is essential to improve the response and identify new combination therapies for MM and other malignancies. This study analysed the relationships between redox homeostasis and bortezomib treatment in MM cells.

Dynamic retention of Ero1alpha and Ero1beta in the endoplasmic reticulum by interactions with PDI and ERp44.

Disulfide bonds are formed in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by sequential interchange reactions: Ero1alpha and Ero1beta transfer oxidative equivalents to protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), which in turn oxidizes cargo proteins. Neither Ero1alpha nor Ero1beta contains known ER localization motif(s), raising the question of how they are retained in this organelle. Here the authors show that, unlike endogenous molecules, overexpressed Ero1alpha and Ero1beta are secreted by HeLa transfectants, suggesting saturation of their normal retention mechanism(s).

Serum and cerebrospinal fluid human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in intracranial germ cell tumors.

We report a retrospective study on serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (betahCG) determination in a series of 30 patients bearing intracranial germ cell tumors. At diagnosis five patients had high serum and CSF AFP levels. No patient had positive serum AFP and negative CSF AFP or vice versa.

Uptake of tritiated thymidine, deoxyglucose and methionine in three lung cancer cell lines: deoxyglucose uptake mirrors tritiated thymidine uptake.

[(18)F]-fluorodeoxyglucose and [(11)C]-methionine are tracers which are widely used in oncological positron emission tomography. This study has been designed to assess the deoxyglucose and methionine uptake behaviour in three cell lines from different lung cancer histotypes. Tracer uptake was compared with proliferative activity as determined by growth curves and tritiated thymidine uptake.

Hormonal regulation of MUC1 expression.

Several circulating mucinous markers, including CA 15.3, MCA, CA 459, CASA, and Truquant BR, are secreted products of the polymorphic MUC1 gene, and are used as diagnostic tools in patients with breast cancer. In clinical practice the measurement of the levels of these markers in the blood can give important information on the tumor's response to treatment and its biological behavior during disease monitoring.

Chromogranin A measurement in neuroendocrine tumors.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare neoplasms characterized by a low proliferative index and, in some cases, a favorable prognosis. These tumors often overproduce and release biologically active substances that are responsible for severe syndromes. Tumor marker measurement provides the clinician with useful information for the management of NET patients.

Anti-malignin antibody evaluation: a possible challenge for cancer management.

The major problem in the management of cancer is the difficulty of an early diagnosis. Clinical signs and symptoms generally appear late in the course of the disease. The availability of a non-invasive test which detects a blood molecule closely associated with the malignant transformation of the cells could be of help in the early detection of cancer.

Breast cancer seeking agents: basic approach.

The knowledge of biochemical and physiological mechanisms involved in tissue localization is important so as to understand the information given by diagnostic nuclear medicine imaging, and eventually to design new radiopharmaceuticals. The cellular mechanisms which permit a high cancer uptake involve the perfusion and metabolism around the tumour tissue, the interference with normal function, the altered perfusion and/or metabolism within the tumour. All these phenomena can contribute to a high concentration of particular radiotracers in cancer and can create a favourable tumour/background ratio uptake sufficient for cancer imaging.

Comparison of three different methods for radiolabelling human activated T lymphocytes.

One approach in the treatment of ovarian cancer patients involves the infusion of autologous T lymphocytes coupled with a bispecific monoclonal antibody MOv18/anti-CD3 (biMAb OC/TR), which recognizes a 38-kDa glycoprotein expressed on ovarian carcinomas and the CD3 T cell receptor. However, little is known about the in vivo biodistribution of injected activated lymphocytes, information that could be obtained by scintigraphic imaging of radiolabelled T cells in order to visualize the migratory pattern. We compared the efficiency, stability and toxicity of technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (HMPAO), indium-111 oxine and fluorine-18 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) in radiolabelling activated lymphocytes targeted with biMAb OC/TR.