Magnetic Resonance Acoustic Radiation Force Imaging (MR-ARFI).

This review covers the theoretical background, pulse sequence considerations, practical implementations, and multitudes of applications of magnetic resonance acoustic radiation force imaging (MR-ARFI) described to date. MR-ARFI is an approach to encode tissue displacement caused by the acoustic radiation force of a focused ultrasound field into the phase of a MR image. The displacement encoding is done with motion encoding gradients (MEG) which have traditionally been added to spin echo-type and gradient recalled echo-type pulse sequences.

Computational predictions of magnetic resonance acoustic radiation force imaging for breast cancer focused ultrasound therapy.

Purpose: In magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) breast therapies, the focal location must be characterized to guide successful treatment. Focal characterization is difficult because heterogeneous breast tissues introduce phase aberrations that blur and shift the focus and traditional guidance methods do not work in adipose tissues. The purpose of this work is to evaluate numerical simulations of MRgFUS that predict the focal location.

Effect of Antiseptic Irrigation Solutions on Primary Human Knee Fibroblasts Cultured in Human Platelet Lysate.

Background: Native and periprosthetic joint infections are devastating conditions fraught with patient morbidity and mortality. Aseptic and septic joints are often debrided and irrigated to decrease bacterial loads when preventing or treating infection. However, the effect of clinically used irrigation solutions on the native cellular components of the synovial joint is unknown.

Lack of Competence of US Mosquito Species for Circulating Oropouche Virus.

Given recent outbreaks of Oropouche virus in Latin America and >100 confirmed travel-associated cases in the United States, we evaluated the competence of US vectors, including Aedes albopictus, Culex quinquefasciatus, Culex pipiens, and Anopheles quadrimaculatus mosquitoes. Results with historic and recent isolates suggest transmission potential for those species is low.

In vivo simultaneous proton resonance frequency shift thermometry and single reference variable flip angle T measurements.

Purpose: The single reference variable flip angle sequence with a multi-echo stack of stars acquisition (SR-VFA-SoS) simultaneously measures temperature change using proton resonance frequency (PRF) shift and T-based thermometry methods. This work evaluates SR-VFA-SoS thermometry in MR-guided focused ultrasound in an in vivo rabbit model.

Methods: Simultaneous PRF shift thermometry and T-based thermometry were obtained in a New Zealand white rabbit model (n = 7) during MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery using the SR-VFA-SoS sequence at 3 T.

Epidemiology of diagnostic errors in pediatric emergency departments using electronic triggers.

Objectives: We applied three electronic triggers to study frequency and contributory factors of missed opportunities for improving diagnosis (MOIDs) in pediatric emergency departments (EDs): return visits within 10 days resulting in admission (Trigger 1), care escalation within 24 h of ED presentation (Trigger 2), and death within 24 h of ED visit (Trigger 3).

Methods: We created an electronic query and reporting template for the triggers and applied them to electronic health record systems of five pediatric EDs for visits from 2019. Clinician reviewers manually screened identified charts and initially categorized them as "unlikely for MOIDs" or "unable to rule out MOIDs" without a detailed chart review.

Treatment efficacy prediction of focused ultrasound therapies using multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging.

Magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is one of the most attractive emerging minimally invasive procedures for breast cancer, which induces localized hyperthermia, resulting in tumor cell death. Accurately assessing the post-ablation viability of all treated tumor tissue and surrounding margins immediately after MRgFUS thermal therapy residual tumor tissue is essential for evaluating treatment efficacy. While both thermal and vascular MRI-derived biomarkers are currently used to assess treatment efficacy, currently, no adequately accurate methods exist for the in vivo determination of tissue viability during treatment.

Short-Lived Neutralizing Antibody Responses to Monkeypox Virus in Smallpox Vaccine-Naive Persons after JYNNEOS Vaccination.

JYNNEOS, a third-generation smallpox vaccine, is integral to monkeypox virus (MPXV) control efforts, but the durability of this modified vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic (MVA-BN) vaccine's effectiveness is undefined. We optimized and used a plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) with authentic clade IIa MPXV and vaccinia virus to assess antibody responses over 12 months in 8 donors vaccinated with 2 doses of JYNNEOS. One donor previously received the ACAM2000 vaccine; 7 donors were smallpox vaccine-naive.

Evaluation of COVID-19 Diagnosis Codes for Identification of SARS-CoV-2 Infections in a Nursing Home Cohort, 2022-2023.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the utility of electronic health record (EHR) diagnosis codes for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 infections among nursing home residents.

Design: A retrospective cohort study design was used to analyze data collected from nursing homes operating under the tradename Signature Healthcare between January 2022 and June 2023.

Setting And Participants: Data from 31,136 nursing home residents across 76 facilities in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Virginia were included.

Reproducibility and repeatability of 18F-(2S, 4R)-4-fluoroglutamine PET imaging in preclinical oncology models.

Introduction: Measurement of repeatability and reproducibility (R&R) is necessary to realize the full potential of positron emission tomography (PET). Several studies have evaluated the reproducibility of PET using 18F-FDG, the most common PET tracer used in oncology, but similar studies using other PET tracers are scarce. Even fewer assess agreement and R&R with statistical methods designed explicitly for the task.

Molecular Mutations and Clinical Behavior in Bethesda III and IV Thyroid Nodules: A Comparative Study.

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy, and accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective management. Fine needle aspiration cytology, guided by the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology, categorizes thyroid nodules into six categories, with Bethesda III and IV representing indeterminate diagnoses that pose significant challenges for clinical decision-making. Understanding the molecular profiles of these categories may enhance diagnostic accuracy and guide treatment strategies.

A framework for monitoring RSV prevention product effectiveness in the United States.

During 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the first respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunizations intended for widespread use in the United States to prevent severe RSV illness in infants and older adults. CDC, in collaboration with federal, public health, and academic partners, is conducting evaluations of real-world effectiveness of recommended RSV immunization products in the United States. Similar frameworks for evaluation are being applied to RSV vaccines and nirsevimab, a long-acting preventative monoclonal antibody, to estimate product effectiveness.

Long-term studies should provide structure for inclusive education and professional development.

Long-term studies are critical for ecological understanding, but they are underutilized as inclusive opportunities for training ecologists. We use our perspective from the Año Nuevo elephant seal programme along with surveys from community members to propose that long-term studies could be better leveraged to promote inclusive education and professional development in ecology. Drawing on our experiences as mentors and mentees, we demonstrate how long-term studies can use their resources, including rich data, robust logistics and extensive professional networks, to improve recruitment and retention of diverse groups of trainees.

Physics Informed Neural Networks for Estimation of Tissue Properties from Multi-echo Configuration State MRI.

This work investigates the use of configuration state imaging together with deep neural networks to develop quantitative MRI techniques for deployment in an interventional setting. A physics modeling technique for inhomogeneous fields and heterogeneous tissues is presented and used to evaluate the theoretical capability of neural networks to estimate parameter maps from configuration state signal data. All tested normalization strategies achieved similar performance in estimating and .

Design and evaluation of an open-source block face imaging system for 2D histology to magnetic resonance image registration.

This study introduces a comprehensive hardware-software framework designed to enhance the quality of block face image capture-an essential intermediary step for registering 2D histology images to ex vivo magnetic resonance (MR) images. A customized camera mounting and lighting system is employed to maintain consistent relative positioning and lighting conditions. Departing from traditional transparent paraffin, dyed paraffin is utilized to enhance contrast for subsequent automatic segmentation.

Influenza vaccine effectiveness against hospitalizations and emergency department or urgent care encounters for children, adolescents, and adults during the 2023-2024 season, United States.

Background: The 2023-2024 influenza season had predominant influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus activity, but A(H3N2) and B viruses co-circulated. Seasonal influenza vaccine strains were well-matched to these viruses.

Methods: Using health care encounters data from health systems in 8 states, we evaluated influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) against influenza-associated medical encounters from October 2023-April 2024.

A honey bee-associated virus remains infectious and quantifiable in postmortem hosts.

Corpse-mediated pathogen transmission is a viable route through which naïve hosts can become infected, but its likelihood for honey bee-associated viruses is largely unknown. While these viruses can be easily detected in deceased bees, it remains unclear if they stay infectious within postmortem hosts or if enough viral RNA degradation-and subsequently virus inactivation-occurs post-host death to render these viruses inviable. This knowledge gap has important implications for how researchers perform honey bee virus studies and for our general understanding of honey bee virus transmission.

Prevention of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Among Black or African American Children With and Without Sickle Cell Disease in the United States After Introduction of 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, 2005 Through 2019.

Background: Administration of pneumococcal vaccines and oral penicillin prophylaxis has been recommended for children with sickle cell disease (SCD) to reduce the risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Characterizing changes in IPD cases among children with SCD after 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) introduction could help inform the need for additional prevention measures.

Methods: Using data from Active Bacterial Core surveillance, we characterized IPD cases among Black or African American (Black) children aged less than 18 years with SCD, non-SCD IPD risk factors, and no IPD risk factors across three time periods (pre-PCV13 [2005-2009], early-PCV13 [2010-2014], and late-PCV13 [2015-2019]), and assessed proportion of IPD cases caused by serotypes in new pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV15, PCV20) recommended after 2019.

Reproductive success and offspring survival decline for female elephant seals past prime age.

Maternal age can influence reproductive success and offspring fitness, but the timing, magnitude and direction of those impacts are not well understood. Evolutionary theory predicts that selection on fertility senescence is stronger than maternal effect senescence, and therefore, the rate of maternal effect senescence will be faster than fertility senescence. We used a 36-year study of northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) to investigate reproductive senescence.

Development of inattention and executive dysfunction in youth with spina bifida: condition severity variables as predictors.

Youth with spina bifida (SB) are at increased risk for inattention and executive dysfunction challenges. This study aimed to characterize the development of inattention and executive dysfunction in SB and examine the relationship between condition severity (i.e.

Architecture and activation of single-pass transmembrane receptor guanylyl cyclase.

The heart, in addition to its primary role in blood circulation, functions as an endocrine organ by producing cardiac hormone natriuretic peptides. These hormones regulate blood pressure through the single-pass transmembrane receptor guanylyl cyclase A (GC-A), also known as natriuretic peptide receptor 1. The binding of the peptide hormones to the extracellular domain of the receptor activates the intracellular guanylyl cyclase domain of the receptor to produce the second messenger cyclic guanosine monophosphate.

Maximizing biological insights from instruments attached to animals.

Instruments attached to animals ('biologgers') have facilitated extensive discoveries about the patterns, causes, and consequences of animal behavior. Here, we present examples of how biologging can deepen our fundamental understanding of ecosystems and our applied understanding of global change impacts by enabling tests of ecological theory. Applying the iterative process of science to biologging has enabled a diverse set of insights, including social and experiential learning in long-distance migrants, state-dependent risk aversion in foraging predators, and resource abundance driving movement across taxa.