Spontaneous strategy use in children with autism spectrum disorder: the roles of metamemory and language skills.

Metamemory, or beliefs about one's own memory capabilities, knowing what you know, and knowing what you don't know, has frequently been linked to the spontaneous use of rehearsal strategies in typically developing children. However, limited research has investigated mnemonic strategy use, metamemory, or the relationship between these two cognitive processes in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The current study examined the relative strength of metamemory knowledge and language skills as predictors of rehearsal use and memory performance in individuals with ASD.

Comparison of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha expression before and after transcatheter arterial embolization in rabbit VX2 liver tumors.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) induces expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) within the same rabbit VX2 liver tumor.

Materials And Methods: Seven VX2 tumors were grown in the livers of five New Zealand white rabbits. Ultrasonography-guided biopsy was performed before and 10 minutes after TAE in all tumors.

Tumor response after yttrium-90 radioembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma: comparison of diffusion-weighted functional MR imaging with anatomic MR imaging.

Purpose: Anatomic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging assessment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) response to yttrium-90 ((90)Y) radioembolization may require 3 months before therapeutic effectiveness can be determined. The relationship between anatomic MR and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) changes after (90)Y therapy is unclear. The present study tested the hypothesis that apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values on DWI at 1 month precede anatomic tumor size change at 3 months after (90)Y radioembolization.

90Y Radioembolization for metastatic neuroendocrine liver tumors: preliminary results from a multi-institutional experience.

Purpose: Minimally invasive therapies such as transarterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation are used for hepatic metastatic neuroendocrine tumor (NET) therapy. Results from another minimally invasive therapy, radioembolization, remain unknown. The purpose of this multicenter open label phase II study was to assess the efficacy and safety of yttrium-90 (Y) radioembolization for treating hepatic metastatic NET using a primary outcome of tumor response and secondary outcomes of serologic toxicities and survival.

MR imaging assessment of changes in renal function with renal artery stent placement in swine.

Purpose: To prospectively test the hypothesis that magnetic resonance (MR) imaging can detect changes in renal function at the time of renal artery stent placement in a swine model of renal artery stenosis (RAS).

Materials And Methods: In this animal care and use committee-approved study, hemodynamically significant (>50%) RAS was surgically induced in six pigs. MR imaging was employed for assessment of the anatomic and physiologic changes induced by fluoroscopically guided stent placement.

Radiation dose limits and liver toxicities resulting from multiple yttrium-90 radioembolization treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: To assess the relationship between cumulative hepatic lobar radiation dose and liver toxicities in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with multiple sessions of yttrium-90 radioembolization.

Materials And Methods: Forty-one patients with HCC (age range, 46-82 years) underwent radioembolization with 90Y. Patients were classified according to the Okuda scoring system.

Use of a combined MR imaging and interventional radiology suite for intraprocedural monitoring of uterine artery embolization.

Purpose: The optimal embolic endpoint for uterine artery embolization (UAE) is unknown. It is difficult to quantify substasis endpoints with the use of conventional x-ray interventional radiology (IR) guidance. Although magnetic resonance (MR) imaging can detect perfusion changes, intraprocedural perfusion changes within targeted uterine leiomyomas and the remaining uterine wall remain unknown.

Liver tumors: monitoring embolization in rabbits with VX2 tumors--transcatheter intraarterial first-pass perfusion MR imaging.

Purpose: To prospectively test the hypothesis that transcatheter intraarterial first-pass perfusion (TRIP) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging can depict serial reductions in rabbit liver tumor perfusion during transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE).

Materials And Methods: All experiments had institutional animal care and use committee approval. In four rabbits implanted with eight VX2 liver tumors, catheters were positioned in the hepatic arteries with conventional angiographic guidance.

Renal artery stenosis in swine: feasibility of MR assessment of renal function during percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.

Purpose: To prospectively test--in a swine model of renal artery stenosis (RAS)--the hypothesis that magnetic resonance (MR) imaging can reveal changes in renal function at the time of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA).

Materials And Methods: In this animal care and use committee-approved study, high-grade unilateral RAS was surgically induced in six pigs. MR imaging at 3.

Effect of transcatheter arterial embolization on levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha in rabbit VX2 liver tumors.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) of VX2 rabbit liver tumors increases the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha), a transcription factor that regulates the expression of pro-angiogenic genes.

Materials And Methods: VX2 tumors were implanted in the livers of eight New Zealand white rabbits. Once tumor growth was seen at T2-weighted turbo spin-echo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, four of the eight rabbits underwent TAE with 45-150-mum polyvinyl alcohol particles.

90Y radioembolization of metastatic breast cancer to the liver: toxicity, imaging response, survival.

Purpose: To present data from patients with breast cancer liver metastases who underwent radioembolization with yttrium (90Y) microspheres.

Materials And Methods: Using standard 90Y lobar treatment protocol, 27 female patients with progressing liver metastases on standard of care polychemotherapy were treated under an open-label phase 2 protocol. After treatment, we assessed (a) tumor response using computed tomography and/or positron emission tomography, (b) biochemical toxicity, and (c) survival.

Rabbit VX2 tumors as an animal model of uterine fibroids and for uterine artery embolization.

Purpose: To determine the suitability of the rabbit VX2 tumor animal model for uterine fibroids and uterine artery embolization (UAE).

Materials And Methods: The authors implanted and grew one uterine VX2 tumor per rabbit in six rabbits. UAE was performed by using 100-300 microm embolic particles and confirmed with x-ray digital subtraction angiography, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, and necropsy.

Diffusion-weighted MR imaging for determination of hepatocellular carcinoma response to yttrium-90 radioembolization.

Early detection of the response of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to yttrium-90 radioembolization therapy may be important to permit repeat radioembolization or alternative treatment options. Water-mobility measurements with use of diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are useful for noninvasive interrogation of microstructural tissue properties. Findings of DW MR imaging may serve as an early biomarker of HCC response.

Comparison of intraarterial MR angiography at 3.0 T with X-ray digital subtraction angiography for detection of renal artery stenosis in swine.

Purpose: To compare the accuracy of catheter-directed intraarterial (IA) magnetic resonance (MR) angiography at 3.0 T with that of x-ray digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for the measurement of renal artery stenosis (RAS) in swine.

Materials And Methods: Unilateral hemodynamically significant RAS (>50%) was induced surgically in six pigs with use of reverse cable ties.

Comparison between intravenous and intraarterial contrast injections for dynamic 3D MRI of liver tumors in the VX2 rabbit model.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that catheter-directed intraarterial (IA) contrast agent injection increases tumor enhancement and conspicuity compared to intravenous (IV) injection.

Materials And Methods: Eight VX2 liver tumors were grown in five rabbits. After positioning a catheter in the hepatic artery, we performed 3D inversion recovery GRE MRI after IA and IV gadopentetate-dimeglumine contrast injections at doses of 0.

In vivo diffusion-weighted imaging of liver tumor necrosis in the VX2 rabbit model at 1.5 Tesla.

Objectives: We sought to demonstrate the feasibility of using single-shot spin-echo echo-planar imaging for imaging liver tumor necrosis in the in vivo VX2 rabbit model at 1.5 T.

Materials And Methods: VX2 liver tumors were grown in 4 rabbits.

Feasibility of blood oxygenation level-dependent MR imaging to monitor hepatic transcatheter arterial embolization in rabbits.

Blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a noninvasive method to assess changes in oxygen delivery to tissues. It was hypothesized that BOLD MR imaging can detect changes in rabbit VX2 liver tumor oxygenation after hepatic artery embolization with polyvinyl alcohol particles. In four discrete VX2 liver tumors, a statistically significant mean reduction in apparent transverse relaxation time was shown, from 55 milliseconds before embolization to 41 milliseconds after embolization (P < .

Real-time MRI monitoring of transcatheter hepatic artery contrast agent delivery in rabbits.

Rationale And Objectives: We sought to test the hypothesis that transcatheter hepatic artery delivery of dilute gadolinium (Gd) in rabbits can be monitored in real-time using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials And Methods: Catheters (2F) were inserted via a femoral access into the hepatic arteries of six New Zealand White rabbits under radiographic guidance. After transfer to a 1.

The effect of catheter-directed CT angiography on yttrium-90 radioembolization treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: Yttrium 90 radioembolization is a transcatheter therapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that delivers internal radiation to tumors. In contrast to the usual method of lobar regional delivery, catheter-directed computed tomographic (CT) angiography was investigated as a potentially useful technique to evaluate the administration of segmental 90Y tumor radiation doses superselectively without significantly altering liver function or Child-Pugh classification.

Materials And Methods: Fourteen patients underwent 90Y therapy for unresectable HCC.

Acquisition and automatization of a complex task: an examination of three-ball cascade juggling.

The learning patterns of 3-ball cascade juggling from acquisition until automaticity were examined in 10 participants. On the basis of outcome measures derived from 26 practice sessions and 4 periodic probe sessions, the authors differentiated participants into 3 distinct learning types: a proficient group, an emerging group, and a single late learner. The proficient group was distinguished by how rapidly they learned and automatized performance.