Multivalent insulin receptor activation using insulin-DNA origami nanostructures.

Insulin binds the insulin receptor (IR) and regulates anabolic processes in target tissues. Impaired IR signalling is associated with multiple diseases, including diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. IRs have been reported to form nanoclusters at the cell membrane in several cell types, even in the absence of insulin binding.

Elastic dosage compensation by X-chromosome upregulation.

X-chromosome inactivation and X-upregulation are the fundamental modes of chromosome-wide gene regulation that collectively achieve dosage compensation in mammals, but the regulatory link between the two remains elusive and the X-upregulation dynamics are unknown. Here, we use allele-resolved single-cell RNA-seq combined with chromatin accessibility profiling and finely dissect their separate effects on RNA levels during mouse development. Surprisingly, we uncover that X-upregulation elastically tunes expression dosage in a sex- and lineage-specific manner, and moreover along varying degrees of X-inactivation progression.

Massive and rapid COVID-19 testing is feasible by extraction-free SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is commonly diagnosed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to detect viral RNA in patient samples, but RNA extraction constitutes a major bottleneck in current testing. Methodological simplification could increase diagnostic availability and efficiency, benefitting patient care and infection control. Here, we describe methods circumventing RNA extraction in COVID-19 testing by performing RT-PCR directly on heat-inactivated or lysed samples.

The New Frontier of Functional Genomics: From Chromatin Architecture and Noncoding RNAs to Therapeutic Targets.

Common diseases are complex, multifactorial disorders whose pathogenesis is influenced by the interplay of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Genome-wide association studies have interrogated genetic polymorphisms across genomes of individuals to test associations between genotype and susceptibility to specific disorders, providing insights into the genetic architecture of several complex disorders. However, genetic variants associated with the susceptibility to common diseases are often located in noncoding regions of the genome, such as tissue-specific enhancers or long noncoding RNAs, suggesting that regulatory elements might play a relevant role in human diseases.

Ureteral pseudodiverticulosis and urothelial cell carcinoma: rethinking the association.

Purpose: To compare frequency of new and recurrent urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) among patients with and without pseudodiverticulosis on imaging.

Methods: This retrospective case-control study compared all 113 sequential patients with ureteral pseudodiverticulosis on radiographic urography between 1/1/2002 and 12/31/2012. Six patients were lost to follow-up.

Voiding cystourethrography after prostatectomy: spectrum of appearances.

Purpose: This article reviews current prostatectomy techniques and then techniques for fluoroscopic voiding cystourethrography (VCUG) evaluation of the prostate and bladder after prostatectomy. Both normal post-prostatectomy appearances and complications will be reviewed.

Conclusion: VCUG is a useful evaluation for both common and uncommon post-prostatectomy complications and appropriate interpretation of the VCUG complications is important to aid the urologist's clinical decision making.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria(®) on renal failure.

Imaging plays a role in the management of patients with acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease. However, clinical circumstances strongly impact the appropriateness of imaging use. In patients with newly detected renal dysfunction, ultrasonography can assess for reversible causes, assess renal size and echogenicity, and thus, establish the chronicity of disease.

Perspectives on radiation dose in abdominal imaging.

Reported instances of patients' overexposure to imaging-related radiation have spurred the radiology and medical physics communities to identify and develop methods for decreasing the amount of radiation used to achieve diagnostic-quality images. These initiatives include examining and optimizing conventional CT scanning parameters, introducing innovative scan protocols, and incorporating novel dose reduction technologies. The greatest challenge to effective dose reduction in the abdomen and pelvis remains patient size.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® acute onset flank pain--suspicion of stone disease.

Low dose (<3 mSv) noncontrast CT (NCCT) is the imaging study of choice for accurate evaluation of patients with acute onset of flank pain and suspicion of stone disease (sensitivity 97%, specificity 95%). NCCT can reliably characterize the location and size of an offending ureteral calculus, identify complications, and diagnose alternative etiologies of abdominal pain such as appendicitis. By comparison, the sensitivity of radiographs (59%) and ultrasound (24-57%) for the detection of renal and ureteral calculi is relatively poor.

Micromechanical photothermal spectroscopy of trace gases using functionalized polymers.

We demonstrate a novel method to spectroscopically detect and identify trace gases. Micromechanical photothermal spectroscopy (MPS) with functionalized sorbent materials provides trace gas spectra in an optical interaction length of only a few micrometers. We use microcavity interferometry to read out displacements as low as 25  fm/√Hz, heating as low as 200  pW/√Hz, and analyte concentrations as low as 65 parts-per-billion for the nerve agent simulant DMMP.

Modeling the reflection from cholesteric liquid crystals using modal analysis and mode matching.

The reflection and transmission spectra from right-handed cholesteric liquid crystals are computed in the visible region for a linearly, circularly, or elliptically polarized incident plane wave at oblique incidence. The liquid crystal cell is sandwiched between dielectric layers of certain thickness and refractive index. The underlined formulation is based on a modal analysis of the governing field expressions in the dielectric and liquid-crystal regions.

Localized candidiasis in kidney presented as a mass mimicking renal cell carcinoma.

Candida albicans is a ubiquitous fungus and infection of urinary tract by C. albicans can be originated from blood or retrograde infection. We reported a case of localized candidiasis in the kidney presenting as a mass.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria ® acute onset of scrotal pain--without trauma, without antecedent mass.

Men or boys, who present with acute scrotal pain without prior trauma or a known mass, most commonly suffer from torsion of the spermatic cord; epididymitis or epididymoorchitis; or torsion of the testicular appendages. Less common causes of pain include a strangulated hernia, segmental testicular infarction, or a previously undiagnosed testicular tumor. Ultrasound is the study of choice to distinguish these disorders; it has supplanted Tc-99 m scrotal scintigraphy for the diagnosis of spermatic cord torsion.

ACR Appropriateness Criteria® posttreatment follow-up of prostate cancer.

Although prostate cancer can be effectively treated, recurrent or residual disease after therapy is not uncommon and is usually detected by a rise in prostate-specific antigen. Patients with biochemical prostate-specific antigen relapse should undergo a prompt search for the presence of local recurrence or distant metastatic disease, each requiring different forms of therapy. Various imaging modalities and image-guided procedures may be used in the evaluation of these patients.

The role of extracorporeal photopheresis in the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas.

Extracorporeal photochemotherapy (ECP) is an effective treatment modality for patients with erythrodermic myocosis fungoides (MF) and Sezary syndrome (SS). During ECP, a fraction of peripheral blood mononuclear cells is collected, incubated ex-vivo with methoxypsoralen, UVA irradiated, and finally reinfused to the patient. Although the mechanism of action of ECP is not well established, clinical and laboratory observations support the hypothesis of a vaccination-like effect.

Low-dose cyclophosphamide associated with hemorrhagic cystitis in a breast cancer patient.

Hemorrhagic cystitis is a known complication of high-dose cyclophosphamide treatment, generally occurring at doses greater than 100 g. There are few reports of hemorrhagic cystitis occurring with low-dose cyclophosphamide therapy, and this complication has not been described in breast cancer patients. We present a case of a patient with stage IIB breast cancer who developed clinical, radiographic, and pathologic evidence of hemorrhagic cystitis after a single 600 mg/m(2) dose of cyclophosphamide.

Pure Red Cell Aplasia due to B19 Parvovirus Infection after Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation.

Parvovirus B19 is recognized as a rare cause of pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) in allogeneic stem cell (SCT) and solid organ transplant patients. We report a patient with Hodgkin's disease who developed PRCA due to parvovirus B19 after autologous SCT and who had an excellent response after treatment with gamma-globulin.

ACR appropriateness criteria on obstructive voiding symptoms secondary to prostate disease.

Obstructive voiding symptoms are most commonly due to prostatic hyperplasia, but other causes include bladder neck contractures, prostatic carcinomas, neurogenic bladder, and urethral stricture. Symptoms include hesitancy, dribbling, decreased force of stream, and postvoid fullness. Imaging is useful in evaluating the presence and degree of hydronephrosis, estimation of renal function, evaluation of the bladder and prostate, and detection of incidental upper tract malignancies or stones.

Asymmetric spermatic cord vessel enhancement and enlargement on contrast-enhanced MDCT as indicators of ipsilateral scrotal pathology.

Purpose: To determine the association of asymmetric spermatic cord vessel enhancement and enlargement on contrast-enhanced CT with ipsilateral scrotal pathology.

Methods: This case series included 30 men with contrast-enhanced CT: 10 cases had asymmetric enhancement and enlargement of spermatic cord vessels with confirmed ipsilateral scrotal pathology determined by additional imaging and/or clinical records; 20 negative reference cases had no such findings with normal corresponding scrotal ultrasound. Maximum spermatic vessel diameters and attenuation values were determined bilaterally.

Photonic microharp chemical sensors.

We describe a new class of micro-opto-mechanical chemical sensors: A photonic microharp chemical sensor is an array of closely spaced microbridges, each differing slightly in length and coated with a different sorbent polymer. They are optically interrogated using microcavity interferometry and photothermal actuation, and are coupled directly to an optical fiber. Simultaneous measurements of the fundamental flexural resonant frequency of each microbridge allow the real-time detection and discrimination of a variety of vapor-phase analytes, including DMMP at concentrations as low as 17 ppb.

Incidence of visualization of the normal appendix on different MRI sequences.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the incidence of visualization of the normal appendix on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations of the pelvis in a large adult population and to compare the yield of commonly used sequences. Pelvic MRI scans of 111 randomly selected patients were retrospectively reviewed by two fellowship-trained body imagers. Thirty-six cases, where the entire cecum and terminal ileum were not included in the field of view, were excluded.

The nonvisualized appendix: incidence of acute appendicitis when secondary inflammatory changes are absent.

Objective: The objective of our study was to assess the importance of nonvisualization of the appendix and its association with acute appendicitis on helical CT when secondary inflammatory changes are absent.

Materials And Methods: After we received institutional review board approval, CT scans of 366 consecutive patients obtained for lower abdominal or right lower quadrant pain and to rule out appendicitis were retrospectively reviewed. Images were reviewed by an experienced abdominal radiologist and compared with the formal interpretation.

Vortex rings and lieb modes in a cylindrical Bose-Einstein condensate.

We present a calculation of a solitary wave propagating along a cylindrical Bose-Einstein trap. For sufficiently strong couplings of experimental interest, it is found to be a hybrid of a one-dimensional (1D) soliton and a three-dimensional vortex ring. The calculated energy-momentum dispersion exhibits characteristics similar to those of a mode proposed sometime ago by Lieb within a 1D model, as well as some rotonlike features.

Active chemotherapy for collecting duct carcinoma of the kidney: a case report and review of the literature.

Background: Collecting (Bellini) duct carcinoma (CDC) of the kidney is associated with an aggressive course and an extremely poor prognosis. To the authors' knowledge, there are no standard treatment regimens and neither immunotherapy nor chemotherapy have been found to be effective.

Methods: In the current study, the authors report a 49-year-old man who presented with a 7.