Cryoablation combined with dual immune checkpoint blockade enhances antitumor efficacy in hepatocellular carcinoma model mice.

Background: Cryoablation (Cryo) is a minimally invasive treatment for tumors. Cryo can activate the body's immune response, although it is typically weak. The immune response induced by Cryo in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is poorly understood.

Hierarchical online contrastive anomaly detection for fetal arrhythmia diagnosis in ultrasound.

Arrhythmia is a major cardiac abnormality in fetuses. Therefore, early diagnosis of arrhythmia is clinically crucial. Pulsed-wave Doppler ultrasound is a commonly used diagnostic tool for fetal arrhythmia.

Intra- and Interimage Reliability of Inter-Rectus Distance Measurements Determined via Ultrasound Imaging by the Same or Different Testers in Women in the Early Postpartum Period.

Objectives: No consensus regarding the optimal position and location for the measurement of the inter-rectus distance (IRD) via ultrasound (US) has been reached. By investigating the intra- and interimage reliability of IRD measurements taken in different positions and at different locations within and between testers, this study provides a theoretical basis for the current situation.

Methods: The IRD was measured via US in 46 women at 42-60 days after delivery at the superior margin of the umbilicus and 3 cm above, 5 cm above and 3 cm below the umbilicus while the women were in the supine, crunch and standing positions.

An intelligent quantification system for fetal heart rhythm assessment: A multicenter prospective study.

Background: The motion relationship and time intervals of the pulsed-wave Doppler (PWD) spectrum are essential for diagnosing fetal arrhythmia. However, few technologies currently are available to automatically calculate fetal cardiac time intervals (CTIs).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop a fetal heart rhythm intelligent quantification system (HR-IQS) for the automatic extraction of CTIs and establish the normal reference range for fetal CTIs.

Initiation and duration of folic acid supplementation in preventing congenital malformations.

Background: Folic acid (FA) supplementation is associated with a lower risk of the neural tube and heart defects and is recommended for women of childbearing age. Although there are detailed recommendations, differences in the initiation time and duration of FA supplementation remain poorly studied.

Methods: A multicentre prospective study of 17,713 women was conducted.

A case of Aicardi-Goutières syndrome caused by TREX1 gene mutation.

Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS) is a rare genetic disorder involving the central nervous system and autoimmune abnormalities, leading to severe intellectual and physical disability with poor prognosis. AGS has a phenotype similar to intrauterine viral infection, which often leads to delays in genetic counseling. In this study, we report a case with a prenatal diagnosis of AGS.

Fetal umbilical artery thrombosis: prenatal diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.

Background: To analyze the ultrasound imaging and clinical characteristics of fetuses with umbilical artery thrombosis (UAT), explore the potential causes of UAT and construct a prognostic prediction model to guide clinical practice.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of fetal UAT cases examined at two academic tertiary referral care centers from 2014 to 2020. The basic information of the participants was obtained by interview during follow-up, and data on clinical treatment, delivery conditions, diagnosis and confirmation were obtained through medical records.

Clinical value of fetal facial profile markers during the first trimester.

Objectives: To study the correlations between facial profile markers and crown-lump length (CRL) in a Chinese population, and to evaluate the clinical value of these markers for abnormal fetuses during the first trimester (11 to 13 gestational weeks).  METHODS: The facial profile markers were as followings: inferior facial angle (IFA), maxilla-nasion-mandible (MNM) angle, facial maxillary angle (FMA), frontal space (FS) distance and profile line (PL) distance. These markers were measured in facial mid-sagittal section through ViewPoint 6 software.

Case Report: Candidate Genes Associated With Prenatal Ultrasound Anomalies in a Fetus With Prenatally Detected 1q23.3q31.2 Deletion.

Patients with deletions involving the long arm of chromosome 1 are rare, and the main aim of this study was to refine the genotype-phenotype correlation. In this report, a 28-year-old pregnant woman, gravida 2 para 1, at 25 weeks of gestation underwent ultrasound examination in our institute. The ultrasonographic findings of the fetus were as follows: (1) fetal growth restriction; (2) cleft lip and palate; (3) bilateral renal hypoplasia; (4) lateral ventriculomegaly; (5) single umbilical artery; (6) absent stomach; (7) coronary sinus dilatation with persistent left superior vena cava, ventricular septal defect and unroofed coronary sinus syndrome.

Simultaneous Segmentation of Fetal Hearts and Lungs for Medical Ultrasound Images via an Efficient Multi-scale Model Integrated With Attention Mechanism.

Large scale early scanning of fetuses via ultrasound imaging is widely used to alleviate the morbidity or mortality caused by congenital anomalies in fetal hearts and lungs. To reduce the intensive cost during manual recognition of organ regions, many automatic segmentation methods have been proposed. However, the existing methods still encounter multi-scale problem at a larger range of receptive fields of organs in images, resolution problem of segmentation mask, and interference problem of task-irrelevant features, obscuring the attainment of accurate segmentations.

Ultrasonographic study of fetal facial profile markers during the first trimester.

Background: To establish reference ranges of fetal facial profile markers and study their correlations with crown-rump length (CRL) during the first trimester (11 ~ 13 weeks' gestation) in a Chinese population.

Methods: Ultrasonographic images of measuring fetal nuchal translucency (NT) were retrospectively selected randomly in normal fetuses whose parents were both Chinese. The facial markers included inferior facial angle (IFA), maxilla-nasion-mandible (MNM) angle, facial maxillary angle (FMA) and profile line (PL) distance.

The application of three-dimensional ultrasound with reformatting technique in the diagnosis of fetal cleft lip/palate.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of three-dimensional ultrasound (3D-US) with reformatting technique in the diagnosis of fetal cleft lip/palate (CL/P), especially those involving the secondary palate.

Methods: A total of 113 fetuses suspected with cleft lip (CL) on two-dimensional ultrasound (2D-US) were further evaluated by 2D-US and 3D-US with reformatting technique, in order to clarify the type of oral cleft. Lesions were classified as cleft lip (CL), cleft lip and alveolus (CLA), and cleft lip and palate (CLP) (including primary and secondary palate).

Modulation of SERCA2a expression and function by ultrasound-guided myocardial gene transfection.

Sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca²-ATPase (SERCA2a) is important for cardiac physiological function and pathological progression. However, intravenous injection, a commonly applied approach for gene delivery in most studies investigating the expression of SERCA2a in cardiomyocytes, has not been particularly satisfactory. Therefore, in the present study, a modified method was used to transfect this gene into the heart.

Overexpression of lincRNA02471 promote cancer development though miR-758/HIPK3 signaling pathway in papillary thyroid cancer.

Aims: In previous studies, numerous differential lncRNAs were identified via RNA-sequencing. In this dysregulated lncRNAs, lincRNA02471 attracted our attention due to its highest fold change. The aims of our study mainly focused on the function and mechanism of lincRNA02471 in papillary thyroid cancer.

lncRNA RPL34-AS1 inhibits cell proliferation and invasion while promoting apoptosis by competitively binding miR-3663-3p/RGS4 in papillary thyroid cancer.

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) accounts for 80% of all thyroid cancers and seriously impacts the quality of people's lives. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in PTC. In previous studies, thousands of lncRNAs were screened to study their potential relationships with PTC.

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous laser ablation for papillary thyroid microcarcinoma: a retrospective analysis of 37 patients.

Background: Over the past ten years, more papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) has been diagnosed more frequently due to the development of imaging technology, and the incidence of PTMC has increased significantly. Ultrasound-guided percutaneous laser ablation (PLA) is mainly used for benign thyroid nodules, and few studies have been published on the use of PLA for PTMC. In the present study, a retrospective analysis was performed to explore the efficacy of PLA for PTMC.

Variations in ductus arteriosus Doppler parameters in different sonographic views during the second half of gestation.

The aim of the present study was to compare the Doppler parameters of the fetal ductus arteriosus (DA) measured in the traditional longitudinal ductal arch (LDA) view and the newly introduced three vessels and trachea (3VT) plane of the fetal upper mediastinum. The peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), time-averaged maximum velocity (TAMXV) and velocity-time integral (VTI) measurements were taken for 52 fetuses with normal growth (including 29 females). The pulsatility index (PI) and resistance index (RI) were calculated.

Sonographic diagnosis and prognosis of fetal arachnoid cysts.

Purpose: To explore the clinical significance of sonographic (US) diagnosis of fetal arachnoid cysts and to evaluate their prognosis.

Methods: Sixty fetuses deemed to have arachnoid cysts by prenatal US were included in this study. Data from serial US, prenatal and/or postnatal MRI, or post-mortem examinations were retrospectively analyzed.

Effect of assisted reproductive technology on fetal brain development assessed by prenatal ultrasonography.

Aims: The aim was to evaluate whether assisted reproductive technology (ART) affects the development of the fetal central nervous system (CNS).

Methods: This study was carried out on women with singleton pregnancies, including 427 women who became pregnant by ART and 32,859 women with natural conceptions (NCs). The cavum septum pellucidum (CSP) width, transverse cerebellar diameter (TCD), cisterna magna (CM) depth, and lateral ventricle width were measured by ultrasound for 72 normal ART fetuses and 201 normal NC fetuses.

Validating volume flow measurements from a novel semiautomated four-dimensional Doppler ultrasound scanner.

Rationale And Objectives: Accurate measurement of blood volume flow (in ml/min) is an important clinical goal. This project compared in vitro and in vivo volume flow measurements obtained with a novel, real-time three-dimensional (i.e.

Contrast enhanced ultrasound for radio frequency ablation of canine prostates: initial results.

Purpose: We determined the feasibility of contrast enhanced ultrasound for radio frequency ablation of the entire prostate as a method of minimally invasive treatment for prostate cancer in a canine model.

Materials And Methods: Approval of the Institutional Animal Use and Care committee was obtained. Initially 5 dogs (group 1) were tested using variable power (5 to 30 W), time (4 to 12 minutes), bolus (0.

In vivo perfusion estimation using subharmonic contrast microbubble signals.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to quantify perfusion in vivo using contrast-enhanced subharmonic imaging (SHI).

Methods: A modified LOGIQ 9 scanner (GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI) operating in gray scale SHI mode was used to measure SHI time-intensity curves in vivo. Four dogs received intravenous contrast bolus injections (dose, 0.