Differentiation of benign from malignant solid renal lesions using CT-based radiomics and machine learning: comparison with radiologist interpretation.

Purpose: To assess the performance of a machine learning model trained with contrast-enhanced CT-based radiomics features in distinguishing benign from malignant solid renal masses and to compare model performance with three abdominal radiologists.

Methods: Patients who underwent intra-operative ultrasound during a partial nephrectomy were identified within our institutional database, and those who had pre-operative contrast-enhanced CT examinations were selected. The renal masses were segmented from the CT images and radiomics features were derived from the segmentations.

Graph-based Fusion Modeling and Explanation for Disease Trajectory Prediction.

We propose a relational graph to incorporate clinical similarity between patients while building personalized clinical event predictors with a focus on hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Our graph formation process fuses heterogeneous data, i.e.

Creation of an Inflammatory Bowel Disease Referral Pathway for Identifying Patients Who Would Benefit From Inflammatory Bowel Disease Specialist Consultation.

Background: Recommendations regarding signs and symptoms that should prompt referral of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) to an IBD specialist for a consultation could serve to improve the quality of care for these patients. Our aim was to develop a consult care pathway consisting of clinical features related to IBD that should prompt appropriate consultation.

Methods: A scoping literature review was performed to identify clinical features that should prompt consultation with an IBD specialist.

Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes With Tofacitinib Treatment in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis in the Open-Label Extension Study, OCTAVE Open.

Background: Tofacitinib is an oral small molecule Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. We report health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes in patients with ulcerative colitis in the phase 3 open-label, long-term extension study, OCTAVE Open.

Methods: The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ), EuroQoL-5 Dimensions Health Questionnaire, and 36-Item Short Form Survey scores were analyzed up to month (M) 72 in 4 subpopulations: patients in remission at baseline (maintenance remitters) assigned tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily and patients not in remission at baseline (maintenance nonremitters, maintenance treatment failures, and induction nonresponders [IndNRs]) assigned tofacitinib 10 mg twice daily in OCTAVE Open.

Endo-histologic Normalization Is Achievable with Tofacitinib and Is Associated with Improved Clinical Outcomes.

Background: Recent real-world effectiveness studies investigating tofacitinib have been encouraging. Questions remain regarding the long-term effectiveness and safety of tofacitinib, effect on endoscopic remission rates, histologic changes, and alterations in fecal calprotectin levels.

Methods: This retrospective study includes consecutive patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who initiated tofacitinib therapy.

Preoperative β-Blocker Therapy and Stroke or Major Adverse Cardiac Events in Major Abdominal Surgery: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Perioperative β-blocker therapy has been associated with increased risk of stroke. However, the association between β-blocker initiation before the day of surgery and the risk of stroke is unknown. The authors hypothesized there would be no association between preoperative β-blocker initiation within 60 days of surgery or chronic β-blockade (more than 60 days) and the risk of stroke in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery.

Endoscopic Management of Colitis-Associated Neoplasia.

This article reviews the latest data concerning the use of advanced therapeutic techniques for endoscopically treating colitis-associated neoplastic lesions and discusses factors associated with improved outcomes.

A whole-body FDG-PET/CT Dataset with manually annotated Tumor Lesions.

We describe a publicly available dataset of annotated Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) studies. 1014 whole body Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET/CT datasets (501 studies of patients with malignant lymphoma, melanoma and non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 513 studies without PET-positive malignant lesions (negative controls)) acquired between 2014 and 2018 were included. All examinations were acquired on a single, state-of-the-art PET/CT scanner.

Use of Transcranial Doppler as a Biomarker of CAR T Cell-Related Neurotoxicity.

Background And Objectives: To examine the relationship between transcranial Doppler (TCD) mean flow velocity (MFV) and the severity and temporal onset of neurotoxicity after chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in patients with relapsed lymphoma.

Methods: We identified a cohort of 165 patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma who received CAR T-cell therapy. TCDs were performed at baseline, treatment day 5, and throughout hospitalization based on development of neurologic symptoms.

Smartphone-Based Gait Cadence to Identify Older Adults with Decreased Functional Capacity.

Background: Functional capacity assessment is a critical step in the preoperative evaluation to identify patients at increased risk of cardiac complications and disability after major noncardiac surgery. Smartphones offer the potential to objectively measure functional capacity but are limited by inaccuracy in patients with poor functional capacity. Open-source methods exist to analyze accelerometer data to estimate gait cadence (steps/min), which is directly associated with activity intensity.

Perioperative Ischemic Optic Neuropathy after Cardiac Surgery: Development and Validation of a Preoperative Risk Prediction Model.

Objective: Previous studies identified risk factors for ischemic optic neuropathy (ION) after cardiac surgery; however, there is no easy-to-use risk calculator for the physician to identify high-risk patients for ION before cardiac surgery. The authors sought to develop and validate a simple-to-use predictive model and calculator to assist with preoperative identification of risk and informed consent for this rare but serious complication.

Design: Retrospective case-control study.

Opportunistic Infections in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treated with Advanced Therapies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background And Aims: Advanced therapies for inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] could potentially lead to a state of immunosuppression with an increased risk of opportunistic infections [OIs]. We aimed to provide an update on the incidence of OIs among adult IBD patients in randomized controlled trials [RCTs] of approved biologics and small-molecule drugs [SMDs]. Also, we aimed to describe OI definitions utilized in RCTs, to ultimately propose a standardized definition.

Improving Traditional Registrational Trial End Points: Development and Application of a Desirability of Outcome Ranking End Point for Complicated Urinary Tract Infection Clinical Trials.

Background: Traditional end points used in registrational randomized, controlled trials (RCTs) often do not allow for complete interpretation of the full range of potential clinical outcomes. Desirability of outcome ranking (DOOR) is an approach to the design and analysis of clinical trials that incorporates benefits and risks of novel treatment strategies and provides a global assessment of patient experience.

Methods: Through a multidisciplinary committee of experts in infectious diseases, clinical trial design, drug regulation, and patient experience, we developed a DOOR end point for infectious disease syndromes and demonstrated how this could be applied to 3 registrational drug trials (ZEUS, APEKS-cUTI, and DORI-05) for complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs).

Understanding Type 2 Diabetes Self-Management in Racial/Ethnic Minorities: Application of the Extended Parallel Processing Model and Sensemaking Theory in a Qualitative Study.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to understand the role of perceived disease threat and self-efficacy in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients' self-management by using the extended parallel processing model (EPPM) and sensemaking theory.

Methods: Semistructured interviews (n = 25) were conducted with T2DM patients from an urban safety-net hospital. Participants were 50% male/female median age was 55 years and 76% were Black.

Laser produced soft x-ray source diagnostics with temporal, spectral, and spatial resolution.

We demonstrate the use of three diagnostic tools which simultaneously view the target from nearly the same direction, and their results are combined to provide temporally, spectrally, and spatially resolved absolutely calibrated target emission information. To demonstrate this capability, Au targets were irradiated by 1.8 kJ, 3 ns laser pulses to produce broadband soft x-ray emission in the 0.

Ozanimod Maintenance Therapy After Cyclosporine Induction in Acute Severe Ulcerative Colitis.

Ozanimod has recently received US Food and Drug Administration approval for moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis. Treatment of acute severe colitis remains a clinical challenge, and although many patients respond to cyclosporine therapy, there remains a relative paucity of maintenance options. This case report describes the first reported, successful use of ozanimod after hospitalization for acute severe ulcerative colitis and in tandem with cyclosporine.

(Re)Appraising Remission in Ulcerative Colitis.

As the therapeutic targets in ulcerative colitis (UC) shift from control of symptoms to mucosal healing and prevention of disease complications like disability, colectomy, and cancer, the definition of remission has evolved. The current definition of clinical remission is variable and is determined by the clinical context in which it is being used. This results in skepticism and uncertainty about the true meaning of the term "clinical remission.

Cardiac Comorbidity Risk Score: Zero-Burden Machine Learning to Improve Prediction of Postoperative Major Adverse Cardiac Events in Hip and Knee Arthroplasty.

Background In this retrospective, observational study we introduce the Cardiac Comorbidity Risk Score, predicting perioperative major adverse cardiac events (MACE) after elective hip and knee arthroplasty. MACE is a rare but important driver of mortality, and existing tools, eg, the Revised Cardiac Risk Index demonstrate only modest accuracy. We demonstrate an artificial intelligence-based approach to identify patients at high risk of MACE within 4 weeks (primary outcome) of arthroplasty, that imposes zero additional burden of cost/resources.

Halimane Diterpenes in the Alpine Daisy : Absolute Configuration, 2,6-Dideoxyhexopyran-3-ulosides, Conformational Flexibility, and Intraspecific Variation.

The methyl-migrated bicyclic skeleton of the halimane diterpenes has been found in a wide range of organisms, including flowering plants, liverworts, marine animals, and bacteria. The discovery of halima-1(10),14-dien-13-ol () from the Aotearoa New Zealand endemic alpine daisy is now reported. The full configuration was assigned for the first time by X-ray crystallography, enantiomeric to that of a liverwort isolate.

-Acylated Flavones in the Alpine Daisy : Intraspecific Variation.

Flavonoids acylated on their core phenolic groups are rare. The Aotearoa New Zealand endemic alpine daisy is widespread, but its flavonoids have not previously been identified. Leaf extracts yielded a series of 8--acylated flavones with combinations of 3-methylbutanoate, 2-methylbutanoate, and 2-methylpropanoate groups and one, two, or three -methyls, all previously unreported.

Diagnostic and Management Considerations for the IPAA With Crohn's Disease-Like Features.

Background: Patients with ulcerative colitis often develop medically refractory colonic inflammation or colorectal neoplasia, and approximately 10% to 15% of patients require surgery. The most common surgical procedure is a restorative proctocolectomy with IPAA. Even if the preoperative diagnosis is ulcerative colitis, approximately 10% of patients can develop inflammatory pouch conditions resembling a Crohn's disease phenotype.

Orbital and In-Situ Investigation of Periodic Bedrock Ridges in Glen Torridon, Gale Crater, Mars.

Gale crater, the field site for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, contains a diverse and extensive record of aeolian deposition and erosion. This study focuses on a series of regularly spaced, curvilinear, and sometimes branching bedrock ridges that occur within the Glen Torridon region on the lower northwest flank of Aeolis Mons, the central mound within Gale crater. During Curiosity's exploration of Glen Torridon between sols ∼2300-3080, the rover drove through this field of ridges, providing the opportunity for in situ observation of these features.