Deep learning-based quantification of T2-FLAIR mismatch sign: extending IDH mutation prediction in adult-type diffuse lower-grade glioma.

Objectives: To investigate the predictive value of the quantitative T2-FLAIR mismatch ratio (qT2FM) with fully automated tumor segmentation in adult-type diffuse lower-grade gliomas (LGGs).

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included 218 consecutive patients (mean age, 47 years ± 15 [SD]; 125 males) diagnosed with adult-type diffuse LGG. The cohort was classified into IDH wild-type (IDHwt), IDH-mutant with 1p/19q-codeletion (IDHmut-Codel), and IDH-mutant without 1p/19q-codeletion (IDHmut-Noncodel) subtypes.

Prospective Evaluation of Accelerated Brain MRI Using Deep Learning-Based Reconstruction: Simultaneous Application to 2D Spin-Echo and 3D Gradient-Echo Sequences.

Objective: To prospectively evaluate the effect of accelerated deep learning-based reconstruction (Accel-DL) on improving brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) quality and reducing scan time compared to that in conventional MRI.

Materials And Methods: This study included 150 participants (51 male; mean age 57.3 ± 16.

Safety and Efficacy of Ultrasound-Guided Thrombin Injection for Pseudoaneurysms Arising after Ultrasound-Guided Biopsy of Thyroid Nodules.

Iatrogenic pseudoaneurysm is a rare but potentially fatal complication of a thyroid biopsy. However, a standard management strategy has not yet been established. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ultrasound (US)-guided thrombin injection (TI) for thyroid pseudoaneurysms.

Reliability of brain volume measures of accelerated 3D T1-weighted images with deep learning-based reconstruction.

Purpose: The time-intensive nature of acquiring 3D T1-weighted MRI and analyzing brain volumetry limits quantitative evaluation of brain atrophy. We explore the feasibility and reliability of deep learning-based accelerated MRI scans for brain volumetry.

Methods: This retrospective study collected 3D T1-weighted data using 3T from 42 participants for the simulated acceleration dataset and 48 for the validation dataset.

Ontogeny and Function of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) represent a unique cell type within the innate immune system. Their defining property is the recognition of pathogen-derived nucleic acids through endosomal Toll-like receptors and the ensuing production of type I interferon and other soluble mediators, which orchestrate innate and adaptive responses. We review several aspects of pDC biology that have recently come to the fore.

Dynamic Contrast-enhanced MRI Quantification of Altered Vascular Permeability in Autoimmune Encephalitis.

Background Blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability change is a possible pathologic mechanism of autoimmune encephalitis. Purpose To evaluate the change in BBB permeability in patients with autoimmune encephalitis as compared with healthy controls by using dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI and to explore its predictive value for treatment response in patients. Materials and Methods This single-center retrospective study included consecutive patients with probable or possible autoimmune encephalitis and healthy controls who underwent DCE MRI between April 2020 and May 2021.

Malignancy risk of indeterminate lymph node at the central compartment in patients with thyroid cancer and concomitant sonographic thyroiditis.

Background: To evaluate the malignancy risk of sonographic (US) indeterminate lymph node (LN)s at the central compartment in thyroid cancer patients with US-thyroiditis (ST).

Methods: Among the central compartments of suspicious, indeterminate, and probably benign LN US categories, the malignancy rates were compared between ST and non-US-thyroiditis (non-ST) groups. Those of indeterminate category were compared with suspicious and probably benign categories.

Added value of dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging in deep learning-based prediction of local recurrence in grade 4 adult-type diffuse gliomas patients.

Local recurrences in patients with grade 4 adult-type diffuse gliomas mostly occur within residual non-enhancing T2 hyperintensity areas after surgical resection. Unfortunately, it is challenging to distinguish non-enhancing tumors from edema in the non-enhancing T2 hyperintensity areas using conventional MRI alone. Quantitative DCE MRI parameters such as K and V convey permeability information of glioblastomas that cannot be provided by conventional MRI.

Outcomes after Biventricular Repair Using a Conduit between the Right Ventricle and Pulmonary Artery in Infancy.

Background: This study investigated the outcomes of biventricular repair using right ventricle to pulmonary artery (RV-PA) conduit placement in patients aged <1 year.

Methods: Patients aged <1 year who underwent biventricular repair using an RV-PA conduit between 2011 and 2020 were included in this study. The outcomes of interest were death from any cause, conduit reintervention, and conduit dysfunction (peak velocity of ≥3.

Outcomes after Mechanical Aortic Valve Replacement in Children with Congenital Heart Disease.

Background: The optimal choice of valve substitute for aortic valve replacement (AVR) in pediatric patients remains a matter of debate. This study investigated the outcomes following AVR using mechanical prostheses in children.

Methods: Forty-four patients younger than 15 years who underwent mechanical AVR from March 1990 through March 2023 were included.

Deep learning-based reconstruction for acceleration of lumbar spine MRI: a prospective comparison with standard MRI.

Objective: To compare the image quality and diagnostic performance between standard turbo spin-echo MRI and accelerated MRI with deep learning (DL)-based image reconstruction for degenerative lumbar spine diseases.

Materials And Methods: Fifty patients who underwent both the standard and accelerated lumbar MRIs at a 1.5-T scanner for degenerative lumbar spine diseases were prospectively enrolled.

Duplex ultrasound abnormalities of the lower limb veins might precede clinical venous reflux signs in post-Fontan adolescents and young adults.

Objective: After the Fontan operation (ie, direct anastomosis of the caval veins to the pulmonary arteries, constituting right ventricular bypass circulation), high central venous pressure can lead to peripheral venous stasis and venous valvar insufficiency. We hypothesized that post-Fontan patients are at a higher risk of developing lower extremity venous lesions detectable using duplex ultrasound, even if clinical signs of chronic venous disease might not be evident.

Methods: A total of 87 transplantation-free survivors after the Fontan procedure who reached adolescence or young adulthood (current age, 15-30 years) participated in a leg vein duplex ultrasound study.

Transitional dendritic cells are distinct from conventional DC2 precursors and mediate proinflammatory antiviral responses.

High-dimensional approaches have revealed heterogeneity amongst dendritic cells (DCs), including a population of transitional DCs (tDCs) in mice and humans. However, the origin and relationship of tDCs to other DC subsets has been unclear. Here we show that tDCs are distinct from other well-characterized DCs and conventional DC precursors (pre-cDCs).

Characteristics of Patients with Surgical Closure of an Atrial Septal Defect during Infancy.

Background: Surgical closure of an atrial septal defect (ASD) is infrequently indicated during infancy. We evaluated the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients who underwent surgical ASD closure during infancy.

Methods: A single-center retrospective review was performed for 39 patients (19 males) who underwent surgical ASD closure during infancy between 1993 and 2020.

Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Infants: Outcomes and Predictors of Mortality.

Background: Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (E-CPR) plays an indispensable role when resuscitation fails; however, extracorporeal life support (ECLS) in infants is different from that in adults. The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of E-CPR in infants.

Methods: A single-center retrospective study was conducted, analyzing 51 consecutive patients (age <1 year) who received E-CPR for in-hospital cardiac arrest between 2010 and 2021.

Quantifying infarct core volume in ischemic stroke: What is the optimal threshold and parameters of computed tomography perfusion?

Objective: Although computed tomography perfusion (CTP) is used to select and guide decision-making processes in patients with acute ischemic stroke, there is no clear standardization of the optimal threshold to predict ischemic core volume accurately. The infarct core volume with a relative cerebral blood flow(rCBF) threshold of < 30% is commonly used. We aimed to assess the volumetric agreement of the infarct core volume with different CTP parameters and thresholds using CTP software (RAPID, VITREA) and the infarct volume on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), with a short interval time (within 60 min) between CTP and follow-up DWI.

Outcomes of Arterial Switch Operation With Aortic Arch Reconstruction.

Background: This study investigated the outcomes and factors associated with reintervention or development of significant pulmonary stenosis (PS) after repair of transposition of the great arteries (TGA) or Taussig-Bing anomaly (TBA) with aortic arch obstruction.

Methods: A total of 51 patients with TGA or TBA who underwent an arterial switch operation and aortic arch reconstruction between 2004 and 2020 were included. The outcomes of interest were all-cause death, including heart transplantation, all-cause reintervention, right-sided reintervention, and development of significant PS.

Outcomes of Surgical Repair for Truncus Arteriosus: A 30-Year Single-Center Experience.

Background: We investigated the long-term outcomes of truncus arteriosus repair at a single institution with a 30-year study period.

Methods: Patients who underwent repair of truncus arteriosus between 1993 and 2022 were reviewed retrospectively. Factors associated with early mortality, overall attrition, and reintervention were identified using appropriate statistical methods.

Sialylated IVIg binding to DC-SIGN Hofbauer cells induces immune tolerance through the caveolin-1/NF-kB pathway and IL-10 secretion.

Although the use of IVIg has increased in various immune-driven diseases and even in pregnancy, the exact action mechanisms of IVIg are not fully understood. Dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3 grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN) is a known receptor for α-2,6-sialylated IgG (sIVIg), which is responsible for the anti-inflammatory effect of IVIg. DC-SIGN is expressed on Hofbauer cells (HBCs) of the fetal villi of the placenta which act as an innate immune modulator at the maternal-fetal interface.

Outcomes of pulmonary artery sling repair without tracheoplasty.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate surgical outcomes of pulmonary artery (PA) sling without tracheoplasty.

Methods: From 2001 through 2020, among 22 patients who underwent PA sling repair, all but 1 patient who underwent concomitant tracheal surgery were analyzed. The outcomes of interest were all-cause death, PA reintervention, tracheal intervention, and readmission for respiratory symptoms.