Outcomes of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy Compared with Surgical Resection in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Macrovascular Invasion: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

Introduction: Patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and macrovascular invasion (MVI) are recommended to receive systemic therapy according to guidelines. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and surgery are increasingly used in this patient population. This study compares outcomes from these local treatments.

Unraveling distinctions between contrast-enhanced ultrasound and CT/MRI for liver mass diagnosis.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) offers a distinctive approach to liver mass diagnosis by utilizing intravenous contrast agents for enhanced visualization of vascular structures and tissue characterization. This review highlights the unique advantages of CEUS compared to computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), particularly focusing on the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System framework. Key differences include CEUS's realtime imaging capability, which minimizes arterial phase mistiming and improves detection of hyperenhancing lesions, and its ability to provide detailed washout patterns.

Paraganglioma and phaeochromocytoma in adult Fontan patients.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to address the gap in knowledge in the incidence, presentation and imaging features of PPGL in Fontan patients. It has been hypothesised in the literature that Fontan circulation patients have an increased incidence of these tumours. This study is the largest cohort of adult Fontan patients in North America.

Unwanted Loss of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) During in Situ Chemical Oxidation Sample Preservation: Mechanisms and Solutions.

To assess the performance of hazardous waste sites remediation technologies, like in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) with persulfate ( ) researchers must periodically measure concentrations of target contaminants. Due to the presence of relatively high concentrations of the residual oxidant expected in many samples, the standard analytical method requires the addition of a relatively high concentration of ascorbic acid to prevent the oxidation process from continuing after sample collection. We discovered that addition of ascorbic acid quencher results in a radical chain reaction that transforms two common halogenated solvents (i.

Sulfonamide Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Can Impact Microorganisms Used in Aromatic Hydrocarbon and Trichloroethene Bioremediation.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) from aqueous film forming foams (AFFFs) can hinder bioremediation of co-contaminants such as trichloroethene (TCE) and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX). Anaerobic dechlorination can require bioaugmentation of , and for BTEX, oxygen is often sparged to stimulate in situ aerobic biodegradation. We tested PFAS inhibition to TCE and BTEX bioremediation by exposing an anaerobic TCE-dechlorinating coculture, an aerobic BTEX-degrading enrichment culture, and an anaerobic toluene-degrading enrichment culture to -dimethyl perfluorohexane sulfonamido amine (AmPr-FHxSA), perfluorohexane sulfonamide (FHxSA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), or nonfluorinated surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS).

Radiology domain in the diagnosis of IgG4-RD according to the 2019 American College of Rheumatology and European League Against Rheumatism classification.

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of radiology-related inclusion criteria of the 2019 ACR-EULAR classification system in the diagnosis of IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD).

Methods: This retrospective single-institution study included patients who received a diagnosis of IgG4-RD between January 2010 and December 2020. Two abdominal radiologists independently reviewed baseline imaging studies and scored radiology findings according to the 2019 ACR-EULAR classification criteria.

Elucidating adsorption mechanisms of benzalkonium chlorides (BACs) on polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate microplastics (MPs): Effects of BACs alkyl chain length and MPs characteristics.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in the use of disposable plastics and disinfectants. This study systematically investigated the adsorption behavior and mechanisms of benzalkonium chlorides (BACs), commonly used disinfectants, on polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics (MPs), considering various factors, such as characteristics of MPs, alkyl chain length of BACs, and environmental conditions. Our results demonstrated a higher adsorption capacity for PP-MPs with relatively hydrophobic properties compared to PET-MPs, where longer alkyl chains in BACs (i.

Association with Combined Occupational Hazards Exposure and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome: A Workers' Health Examination Cohort 2012-2021.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the association between exposure to occupational hazards and the metabolic syndrome. A secondary objective was to analyze the additive and multiplicative effects of exposure to risk factors.

Methods: This retrospective cohort was based on 31,615 health examinees at the Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital in Republic of Korea from 2012-2021.

Can absolute arterial phase hyperenhancement improve sensitivity of detection of hepatocellular carcinoma in indeterminate nodules on CT?

Objectives: To determine if quantitative assessment of relative (R) and absolute (A) arterial phase hyperenhancement (APHE) and washout (WO) applied to indeterminate nodules on CT would improve the overall sensitivity of detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: One-hundred and fourteen patients (90 male; mean age, 65 years) with 210 treatment-naïve HCC nodules (190 HCCs, 20 benign) who underwent 4-phase CT were included in this retrospective study. Four radiologists independently assigned a qualitative LR (LI-RADS) category per nodule.

Mineralization of a Fully Halogenated Organic Compound by Persulfate under Conditions Relevant to in Situ Reduction and Oxidation: Reduction of Hexachloroethane by Ethanol Addition Followed by Oxidation.

Fully halogenated compounds are difficult to remediate by in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) because carbon-halogen bonds react very slowly with the species that typically initiate contaminant transformation: sulfate radical (SO) and hydroxyl radical (OH). To enable the remediation of this class of contaminants by persulfate (SO)-based ISCO, we employed a two-phase process to dehalogenate and oxidize a representative halogenated compound (i.e.

Automated Laser-Fiber Coupling Module for Optical-Resolution Photoacoustic Microscopy.

Photoacoustic imaging has emerged as a promising biomedical imaging technique that enables visualization of the optical absorption characteristics of biological tissues in vivo. Among the different photoacoustic imaging system configurations, optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy stands out by providing high spatial resolution using a tightly focused laser beam, which is typically transmitted through optical fibers. Achieving high-quality images depends significantly on optical fluence, which is directly proportional to the signal-to-noise ratio.

Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access with One-Bit Analog-to-Digital Converters Using Threshold Adaptation.

In digital communication systems featuring high-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), the utilization of successive interference cancellation and detection can enhance the capacity of a Gaussian multiple access channel (MAC) by combining signals from multiple transmitters in a non-orthogonal manner. Conversely, in systems employing one-bit ADCs, it is exceedingly difficult to eliminate non-orthogonal interference using digital signal processing due to the considerable distortion present in the received signal when employing such ADCs. As a result, the Gaussian MAC does not yield significant capacity gains in such cases.

C2RL: Convolutional-Contrastive Learning for Reinforcement Learning Based on Self-Pretraining for Strong Augmentation.

Reinforcement learning agents that have not been seen during training must be robust in test environments. However, the generalization problem is challenging to solve in reinforcement learning using high-dimensional images as the input. The addition of a self-supervised learning framework with data augmentation in the reinforcement learning architecture can promote generalization to a certain extent.

Reinforcement Learning-Aided Channel Estimator in Time-Varying MIMO Systems.

This paper proposes a reinforcement learning-aided channel estimator for time-varying multi-input multi-output systems. The basic concept of the proposed channel estimator is the selection of the detected data symbol in the data-aided channel estimation. To achieve the selection successfully, we first formulate an optimization problem to minimize the data-aided channel estimation error.

Improved Likelihood Probability in MIMO Systems Using One-Bit ADCs.

This study considers an improved likelihood probability in multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems using one-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). MIMO systems using one-bit ADCs are known to exhibit from performance degradation because of inaccurate likelihood probabilities. To overcome this degradation, the proposed method leverages the detected symbols to estimate the true likelihood probability by combining the initial likelihood probability.

Patterns of Relapse and Complications of Immunoglobulin G4-Related Disease.

Background: Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a multisystemic fibroinflammatory condition potentially resulting in organ dysfunction. We aimed to evaluate imaging characteristics of disease relapse and complications in this cohort of patients.

Methods: This was a cohort study of IgG4-RD patients imaged between 2010 and 2020.

Germline BRCA2 variants in advanced pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma: A case report and review of literature.

Background: Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma (PACC) is a rare tumor. Up to 45% of PACCs have alterations in the DNA damage repair pathway and 23% harbor rearrangements in the or genes. We present a PACC case with a germline likely pathogenic variant (LPV) to highlight the impact of genomic testing on treatment decisions and patient outcomes.

Epidemiology of occupational injuries in construction workers between 2009 and 2018 in South Korea.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of occupational injuries based on fatality, sex, and classification of occupations among construction workers using workers' compensation (WC) insurance data in South Korea.

Methods: We collected WC insurance data from the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service for all construction workers between 2009 and 2018. Data from 158,947 accepted claims for occupational injury were extracted, and the demographic features, occupational injury types, and annual trends were analyzed for fatal and nonfatal cases.

Cooperative DF Protocol for MIMO Systems Using One-Bit ADCs.

This study considers a detection scheme for cooperative multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) systems using one-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) in a decode-and-forward (DF) relay protocol. The use of one-bit ADCs is a promising technique for reducing the power consumption, which is necessary for supporting future wireless systems comprising a large number of antennas. However, the use of a large number of antennas remains still limited to mobile devices owing to their size.