Advancing presurgical non-invasive molecular subgroup prediction in medulloblastoma using artificial intelligence and MRI signatures.

Global investigation of medulloblastoma has been hindered by the widespread inaccessibility of molecular subgroup testing and paucity of data. To bridge this gap, we established an international molecularly characterized database encompassing 934 medulloblastoma patients from thirteen centers across China and the United States. We demonstrate how image-based machine learning strategies have the potential to create an alternative pathway for non-invasive, presurgical, and low-cost molecular subgroup prediction in the clinical management of medulloblastoma.

The chemical characteristics of different sodium iron ethylenediaminetetraacetate sources and their relative bioavailabilities for broilers fed with a conventional corn-soybean meal diet.

Background: Our previous studies demonstrated that divalent organic iron (Fe) proteinate sources with higher complexation or chelation strengths as expressed by the greater quotient of formation (Q) values displayed higher Fe bioavailabilities for broilers. Sodium iron ethylenediaminetetraacetate (NaFeEDTA) is a trivalent organic Fe source with the strongest chelating ligand EDTA. However, the bioavailability of Fe when administered as NaFeEDTA in broilers and other agricultural animals remains untested.

MegaPro, a clinically translatable nanoparticle for tracking of stem cell implants in pig cartilage defects.

Efficient labeling methods for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are crucial for tracking and understanding their behavior in regenerative medicine applications, particularly in cartilage defects. MegaPro nanoparticles have emerged as a potential alternative to ferumoxytol nanoparticles for this purpose. In this study, we employed mechanoporation to develop an efficient labeling method for MSCs using MegaPro nanoparticles and compared their effectiveness with ferumoxytol nanoparticles in tracking MSCs and chondrogenic pellets.

Multimodal In Vivo Tracking of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cells in Preclinical Glioblastoma Models.

Objectives: Iron oxide nanoparticles have been used to track the accumulation of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, the only nanoparticle available for clinical applications to date, ferumoxytol, has caused rare but severe anaphylactic reactions. MegaPro nanoparticles (MegaPro-NPs) provide an improved safety profile.

Intelligent and thermo-responsive Au-pluronic® F127 nanocapsules for Raman-enhancing detection of biomolecules.

Thermo-responsive Raman-enhanced nanocapsules were successfully fabricated by Pluronic® F127 (F127) decorated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection of biomolecules. F127 nanocapsules changes from hydrophilicity (swelling) to hydrophobicity (de-swelling) when the temperature increases from 15 °C to 37 °C, owing to the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of F127 is about 26.5 °C.

[Analysis of gene mutations and clinic features in 108 patients with myeloproliferative neoplasm].

To analyze the genetic mutations and clinical features of the subtypes of classical BCR-ABL-negative myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) . Mutations of 108 newly diagnosed BCR-ABL-negative MPN patients [including 55 patients with essential thrombocytopenia (ET) , 24 with polycythemia vera (PV) , and 29 with primary myelofibrosis (PMF) ] were identified using next-generation sequencing with 127-gene panel, and the relationship between gene mutations and clinical features were analyzed. Total 211 mutations in 32 genes were detected in 100 MPN patients (92.

The impact of mentor-mentee rapport on nurses' professional turnover intention: Perspectives of social capital theory and social cognitive career theory.

Aims And Objectives: This study examines the impacts of mentor-mentee rapport on willingness to mentor/be mentored, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, career interest and subsequently on nurses' professional turnover intention.

Background: Workplace relationships, whether positive or negative, influence nurse turnover within an organisation. Yet little is known about the effects of mentoring on nurses' intentions to leave the nursing profession.

Global brain metabolic quantification with whole-head proton MRS at 3 T.

Total N-acetyl-aspartate + N-acetyl-aspartate-glutamate (NAA), total creatine (Cr) and total choline (Cho) proton MRS ( H-MRS) signals are often used as surrogate markers in diffuse neurological pathologies, but spatial coverage of this methodology is limited to 1%-65% of the brain. Here we wish to demonstrate that non-localized, whole-head (WH) H-MRS captures just the brain's contribution to the Cho and Cr signals, ignoring all other compartments. Towards this end, 27 young healthy adults (18 men, 9 women), 29.

Proton MR spectroscopy of lesion evolution in multiple sclerosis: Steady-state metabolism and its relationship to conventional imaging.

Although MRI assessment of white matter lesions is essential for the clinical management of multiple sclerosis, the processes leading to the formation of lesions and underlying their subsequent MRI appearance are incompletely understood. We used proton MR spectroscopy to study the evolution of N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr), choline (Cho), and myo-inositol (mI) in pre-lesional tissue, persistent and transient new lesions, as well as in chronic lesions, and related the results to quantitative MRI measures of T1-hypointensity and T2-volume. Within 10 patients with relapsing-remitting course, there were 180 regions-of-interest consisting of up to seven semi-annual follow-ups of normal-appearing white matter (NAWM, n = 10), pre-lesional tissue giving rise to acute lesions which resolved (n = 3) or persisted (n = 3), and of moderately (n = 9) and severely hypointense (n = 6) chronic lesions.

Openness to experience, work experience and patient safety.

Aims: The purpose of this study is to examine how the interaction between nurse openness and work experience is related to patient safety.

Background: No study has yet examined the interactions between these, and how openness and work experience jointly impact patient safety.

Methods: This study adopts a cross-sectional design, using self-reported work experience, perceived time pressure and measures of patient safety, and was conducted in a major medical centre.

Quantifying global-brain metabolite level changes with whole-head proton MR spectroscopy at 3T.

Background And Purpose: To assess the sensitivity of non-localized, whole-head H-MRS to an individual's serial changes in total-brain NAA, Glx, Cr and Cho concentrations - metabolite metrics often used as surrogate markers in neurological pathologies.

Materials And Methods: In this prospective study, four back-to-back (single imaging session) and three serial (successive sessions) non-localizing, ~3min H-MRS (TE/TR/TI=5/10/940ms) scans were performed on 18 healthy young volunteers: 9 women, 9 men: 29.9±7.

Early glial activation precedes neurodegeneration in the cerebral cortex after SIV infection: a 3D, multivoxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

Objectives: As ∼40% of HIV-infected individuals experience neurocognitive decline, we investigated whether proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((1) H-MRSI) detects early metabolic abnormalities in the cerebral cortex of a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected rhesus monkey model of neuroAIDS.

Methods: The brains of five rhesus monkeys before and 4 or 6 weeks after SIV infection (with CD8(+) T-cell depletion) were assessed with T2 -weighted quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 16×16×4 multivoxel (1) H-MRSI (echo time/repetition time = 33/1440 ms). Grey matter and white matter masks were segmented from the animal MRIs and used to produce cortical masks co-registered to (1) H-MRSI data to yield cortical metabolite concentrations of the glial markers myo-inositol (mI), creatine (Cr) and choline (Cho), and of the neuronal marker N-acetylaspartate (NAA).

Automated whole-brain N-acetylaspartate proton MRS quantification.

Concentration of the neuronal marker, N-acetylaspartate (NAA), a quantitative metric for the health and density of neurons, is currently obtained by integration of the manually defined peak in whole-head proton ((1) H)-MRS. Our goal was to develop a full spectral modeling approach for the automatic estimation of the whole-brain NAA concentration (WBNAA) and to compare the performance of this approach with a manual frequency-range peak integration approach previously employed. MRI and whole-head (1) H-MRS from 18 healthy young adults were examined.

Structure-specific glial response in a macaque model of neuroAIDS: multivoxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging at 3 Tesla.

Objective: As ~40% of persons with HIV also suffer neurocognitive decline, we sought to assess metabolic dysfunction in the brains of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected rhesus macaques, an advanced animal model, in structures involved in cognitive function. We test the hypothesis that SIV-infection produces proton-magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (H-MRSI)-observed decline in the neuronal marker, N-acetylaspartate (NAA), and elevations in the glial marker, myo-inositol (mI), and associated creatine (Cr) and choline (Cho) in these structures.

Design: Pre- and 4-6 weeks post-SIV infection (with CD8 T-lymphocyte depletion) was monitored with T2-weighted quantitative MRI and 16×16×4 multivoxel H-MRSI (TE/TR = 33/1400 ms) in the brains of five rhesus macaques.

Brain MR spectroscopic abnormalities in "MRI-negative" tuberous sclerosis complex patients.

Since approximately 5-10% of the ~50,000 tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) patients in the US are "MRI-negative," our goal was to test the hypothesis that they nevertheless exhibit metabolic abnormalities. To test this, we used proton MR spectroscopy to obtain and compare gray and white matter (GM and WM) levels of the neuronal marker, N-acetylaspartate (NAA), the glial marker, myo-inositol (mI), and its associated creatine (Cr), and choline (Cho) between two "MRI-negative" female TSC patients (ages 5 and 43 years) and their matched controls. The NAA, Cr, Cho and mI concentrations, 9.

Global gray and white matter metabolic changes after simian immunodeficiency virus infection in CD8-depleted rhesus macaques: proton MRS imaging at 3 T.

To test the hypotheses that global decreased neuro-axonal integrity reflected by decreased N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and increased glial activation reflected by an elevation in its marker, the myo-inositol (mI), present in a CD8-depleted rhesus macaque model of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. To this end, we performed quantitative MRI and 16 × 16 × 4 multivoxel proton MRS imaging (TE/TR = 33/1400 ms) in five macaques pre- and 4-6 weeks post-simian immunodeficiency virus infection. Absolute NAA, creatine, choline (Cho), and mI concentrations, gray and white matter (GM and WM) and cerebrospinal fluid fractions were obtained.

The whole-brain N-acetylaspartate correlates with education in normal adults.

N-acetylaspartate (NAA) is an index of neuronal integrity. We hypothesized that in healthy subjects its whole brain concentration (WBNAA) may be related to formal educational attainment, a common proxy for cognitive reserve. To test this hypothesis, 97 middle aged to elderly subjects (51-89 years old, 38% women) underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging and non-localizing proton spectroscopy.

Whole brain N-acetylaspartate concentration is conserved throughout normal aging.

We hypothesize that normal aging implies neuronal durability, reflected by age-independent concentrations of their marker--the amino acid derivative N-acetylaspartate (NAA). To test this, we obtained the whole-brain and whole-head N-acetylaspartate concentrations (WBNAA and WHNAA) with proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy; and the fractional brain parenchyma volume (fBPV)--a metric of atrophy, by segmenting the magnetic resonance image (MRI) from 42 (18 male) healthy young (31.9 ± 5.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal reproducibility of rhesus macaque brain metabolites: a proton MR spectroscopy study at 3 T.

Non-human primates are often used as preclinical model systems for (mostly diffuse or multi-focal) neurological disorders and their experimental treatment. Due to cost considerations, such studies frequently utilize non-destructive imaging modalities, MRI and proton MR spectroscopy ((1) H MRS). Cost may explain why the inter- and intra-animal reproducibility of the (1) H MRS observed brain metabolites, are not reported.

Imaging the Abeta-related neurotoxicity of Alzheimer disease.

Background: Neurotoxicity related to the Abeta peptide is thought to be a primary mechanism of dysfunction in Alzheimer disease (AD). Although numerous imaging studies have observed brain dysfunction in AD, whether these imaged defects reflect Abeta-related neurotoxicity remains unknown.

Objective: To study Abeta-related neurotoxicity by means of functional imaging maps of the hippocampal formation in human patients and mouse models.

Frequency of subclinical heart disease in elderly persons with dementia.

The authors compared the frequency of structural and functional heart abnormalities assessed using transthoracic echocardiography among persons with Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, stroke, and healthy control subjects. Compared with controls, patients with Alzheimer's disease were more likely to have aortic valve thickening, aortic valve regurgitation, left ventricular wall motion abnormalities, left ventricular hypertrophy, and reduced ejection fraction. Persons with vascular dementia were more likely to have aortic valve regurgitation, but mitral valve thickening and tricuspid valve regurgitation were also more frequent.