Clinical Predictors of Surgical Outcomes and Imaging Features in Single Segmental Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy with Lower Cervical Instability.

BACKGROUND Cervical degenerative changes are the most common cause of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) and lower cervical instability (LCI). The purpose of this study was to investigate the associated factors of MRI signal changes and prognosis in single segmental CSM accompanied by LCI. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 122 patients met the inclusion criteria and were enrolled in this study with a minimum follow-up period of 2 years.

Functional density and edge maps: Characterizing functional architecture in individuals and improving cross-subject registration.

Population-level inferences and individual-level analyses are two important aspects in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Extracting reliable and informative features from fMRI data that capture biologically meaningful inter-subject variation is critical for aligning and comparing functional networks across subjects, and connecting the properties of functional brain organization with variations in behavior, cognition and genetics. In this study, we derive two new measures, which we term functional density map and edge map, and demonstrate their usefulness in characterizing the function of individual brains.

Five-class differential diagnostics of neurodegenerative diseases using random undersampling boosting.

Differentiating between different types of neurodegenerative diseases is not only crucial in clinical practice when treatment decisions have to be made, but also has a significant potential for the enrichment of clinical trials. The purpose of this study is to develop a classification framework for distinguishing the four most common neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal lobe degeneration, Dementia with Lewy bodies and vascular dementia, as well as patients with subjective memory complaints. Different biomarkers including features from images (volume features, region-wise grading features) and non-imaging features (CSF measures) were extracted for each subject.

Do Modic changes affect cervical sagittal alignment and motion in symptomatic patients?

Purpose: The cervical segmental instability often occurs simultaneously with Modic changes (MCs). However, it is unknown whether there is a relation between the two diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between MCs and cervical segmental instability, cervical curvature and range of motion (ROM) in the cervical spine.

FZUImageReg: A toolbox for medical image registration and dose fusion in cervical cancer radiotherapy.

The combination external-beam radiotherapy and high-dose-rate brachytherapy is a standard form of treatment for patients with locally advanced uterine cervical cancer. Personalized radiotherapy in cervical cancer requires efficient and accurate dose planning and assessment across these types of treatment. To achieve radiation dose assessment, accurate mapping of the dose distribution from HDR-BT onto EBRT is extremely important.

A Sialidase-Deficient Porphyromonas gingivalis Mutant Strain Induces Less Interleukin-1β and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α in Epi4 Cells Than W83 Strain Through Regulation of c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase Pathway.

Background: Porphyromonas gingivalis is one of the major periodontal pathogens. In a previous study, a mouse abscess model showed that sialidase deficiency of P. gingivalis weakened its virulence, but the mechanism behind this observation remains unknown.

Anterior Migration After Bryan Cervical Disc Arthroplasty: The Relationship Between Hyperlordosis and its Impact on Clinical Outcomes.

Background: Various modifications have been tested to prevent kyphosis after Bryan cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA). However, the migration of Bryan prostheses has not been systematically studied. This study investigated the cause of anterior migration (AM) and assessed the effect of AM on clinical and radiographic outcomes.

CapOX as neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced operable colon cancer patients: a prospective single-arm phase II trial.

Objective: The aim of this prospective, single-arm phase II trial was to confirm the safety and efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) using oxaliplatin plus capecitabine (CapOX) for patients with operable locally advanced colon cancer (CC).

Methods: Patients with computed tomography-defined T4 or lymph node-positive CCs were enrolled. After radiological staging, patients were treated with at least 2 cycles of NAC consisting of 130 mg/m oxaliplatin on d 1, plus 1,000 mg/m capecitabine twice daily for 14 d every 3 weeks, followed by surgery, and then with the rest cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy.

Predictors of cervical lordosis loss after laminoplasty in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Purpose: To determine whether radiological, clinical, and demographic findings in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) were independently associated with loss of cervical lordosis (LCL) after laminoplasty.

Methods: The prospective study included 41 consecutive patients who underwent laminoplasty for CSM. The difference in C2-7 Cobb angle between the postoperative and preoperative films was used to evaluate change in cervical alignment.

Predisposing factors for poor outcome of surgery for cervical spondylotic amyotrophy: a multivariate analysis.

The purpose of this study was to characterize risk factors for poor surgical outcome in patients with cervical spondylotic amyotrophy (CSA). We retrospectively reviewed 88 cases of CSA surgery and investigated age, sex, duration of symptoms, atrophy type, preoperative muscle power, signal changes on MRI, anterior horn (AH) or ventral nerve root (VNR) compression, compression levels, surgical approach and postoperative recovery. Fifty (56.

Prenatal diagnosis of idiopathic infantile arterial calcification without fetal hydrops.

Idiopathic infantile arterial calcification (IIAC) is a rare autosomal recessive disease that is characterized by extensive calcification of the internal elastic lamina and intimal proliferation of large- and medium-sized arteries, including the aortic, coronary, pulmonary, and iliac arteries. Most reported cases of IIAC were diagnosed in the neonatal periods. Prenatal diagnosis of this condition is extremely rare and is usually made in the third trimester when fetuses had nonimmune hydrops together with aortic and pulmonary calcification.

Enlarged anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion in the treatment of severe localised ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Background: Severe localised ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) should be directly removed by anterior approach, but the exposure during anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion (ACDF) is restricted and may increase the risk of a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. Corpectomy is facilitated to extirpate the ossification, but it is relatively more invasive. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and clinical outcome of enlarged ACDF in treating severe localised OPLL.

Correlation between Cyr61 expression and clinicopathologic parameters in adenomyosis.

Adenomyosis, a benign invasion of endometrium, is closely related to endometriosis. Cysteine-rich 61 (Cyr61), a protein present in all endometrial tissues and menstrual effluents, is known to be associated with endometriosis. However, its relation to adenomyosis has not been determined thus far.

Limited accuracy of DCE-MRI in identification of pathological complete responders after chemoradiotherapy treatment for rectal cancer.

Objectives: To examine whether post-chemoradiotherapy (CRT) DCE-MRI can identify rectal cancer patients with pathologic complete response (pCR).

Methods: From a rectal cancer surgery database 2007-2014, 61 consecutive patients that met the following inclusion criteria were selected for analysis: (1) stage II/III primary rectal adenocarcinoma; (2) received CRT; (3) underwent surgery (4); underwent rectal DCE-MRI on a 1.5-T MRI scanner.

Protective Effects of Puerarin against Aβ 1-42-Induced Learning and Memory Impairments in Mice.

Puerarin is a major isoflavone glycoside from the root of It has been reported that puerarin can protect neurons from oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. Emerging evidence suggests that oxidative damage is associated with A-induced neuronal death. In the current study, we evaluated the effect of puerarin on Alzheimer's disease induced by A and explored the potential mechanisms underlying this effect.

Differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases using structural MRI data.

Different neurodegenerative diseases can cause memory disorders and other cognitive impairments. The early detection and the stratification of patients according to the underlying disease are essential for an efficient approach to this healthcare challenge. This emphasizes the importance of differential diagnostics.

A Novel Grading Biomarker for the Prediction of Conversion From Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer's Disease.

Objective: Identifying mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects who will progress to Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not only crucial in clinical practice, but also has a significant potential to enrich clinical trials. The purpose of this study is to develop an effective biomarker for an accurate prediction of MCI-to-AD conversion from magnetic resonance images.

Methods: We propose a novel grading biomarker for the prediction of MCI-to-AD conversion.

Determination of 2-alkylcyclobutanones by combining precolumn derivatization with 1-naphthalenyl hydrazine and ultra-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

2-Alkylcyclobutanones (2-ACBs) are uniquely formed when triglycerides-containing food products are exposed to ionizing radiation. Thus, 2-ACBs have been used as marker molecules to identify irradiated food. Most methods to determine 2-ACBs involve mass spectrometric detection after chromatographic separation.

[Analysis of demands of African students for China-Africa malaria prevention training].

Objective: To understand the demands of African students on the China-Africa malaria prevention training programs as well as explore further suggestions on the student selection and course content design.

Methods: A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted, and all the students who attended in the malaria prevention training courses in 2014 and 2015 were included. The Chi-square test was conducted to analyse the correlations between professional backgrounds, work statues and training needs.

Antihyperlipidemic activity of adenosine triphosphate in rabbits fed a high-fat diet and hyperlipidemic patients.

Context Recently, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was occasionally found to decrease the triglyceride (TG) levels in several hyperlipidemic patients in our clinical practice. Objective The study investigates the anti-hyperlipidemic effects of ATP in a high-fat fed rabbit model and hyperlipidemic patients. Materials and methods Twenty-four rabbits were randomly divided into three groups of eight animals each as follows: normal diet, high-fat diet and high-fat diet + ATP group.

Delivery of oncolytic adenovirus into the nucleus of tumorigenic cells by tumor microparticles for virotherapy.

Oncolytic viruses have been utilized for the treatment of various cancers. However, delivery of the viral particles to tumor cells remains a major challenge. Microparticles (MP) are vesicle forms of plasma membrane fragments of 0.

Recognition of Anterior Peritoneal Reflections and Their Relationship With Rectal Tumors Using Rectal Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Our goal was to explore the factors influencing the visualization of anterior peritoneal reflections (APRs) using rectal MRI. We evaluated the usefulness of rectal MRI in measuring the distance from the anal verge to the APR and determining the relationship between the APR and the rectal tumor. Clinical and imaging data from 319 patients who underwent surgery after MRI examination between October 2010 and December 2013 were retrospectively analyzed.

A predictive nomogram improved diagnostic accuracy and interobserver agreement of perirectal lymph nodes metastases in rectal cancer.

Objective: To develop a predictive nomogram to improve the diagnostic accuracy and interobserver agreement of pre-therapeutic lymph nodes metastases in patients with rectal cancer.

Materials And Methods: An institutional database of 411 patients with rectal cancer was used to develop a nomogram to predict perirectal lymph nodes metastases. Patients' clinicopathological and MRI-assessed imaging variables were included in the multivariate logistic regression analysis.