Immunosuppression use in primary antiphospholipid antibody-positive patients: Descriptive analysis of the AntiPhospholipid Syndrome Alliance for Clinical Trials and InternatiOnal Networking (APS ACTION) Clinical Database and Repository ("Registry").

Background/purpose: APS ACTION Registry was created to study the outcomes of patients with persistently positive antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) with or without other systemic autoimmune disease (SAIDx). Given that immunosuppression (IS) is used for certain aPL manifestations, for example, thrombocytopenia (TP), our primary objective was to describe the indications for IS in aPL-positive patients without other SAIDx. Secondly, we report the type of IS used in patients with selected microvascular or non-thrombotic aPL manifestations.

Quantification of heavy metals and health risk assessment in Sichuan pickle.

Sichuan pickle is one of popular traditional fermented foods in China. However, the contamination of heavy metals in Sichuan pickle, particularly home-made Sichuan pickle and aged pickle brine, is little known. Therefore, the content of trace (Cr, Cu, and Zn) and toxic elements (As, Pb, and Cd) in Sichuan industrial pickle (SIP), Sichuan home-made pickle (SHP), and aged pickle brine collected from local markets and families in Sichuan province, respectively, was detected by inductively coupled plasma-tandem mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS) and the health risk was assessed by target hazard quotients including target hazard quotient (THQ) and total target hazard quotient (TTHQ).

Cardiac MRI Myocardial Functional and Tissue Characterization Detects Early Cardiac Dysfunction in a Mouse Model of Chemotherapy-Induced Cardiotoxicity.

Background: Doxorubicin and doxorubicin-trastuzumab combination chemotherapy have been associated with cardiotoxicity that eventually leads to heart failure and may limit dose-effective cancer treatment. Current diagnostic strategies rely on decreased ejection fraction (EF) to diagnose cardiotoxicity.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore the potential of cardiac MR (CMR) imaging to identify imaging biomarkers in a mouse model of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.

Early Immunologic Response of Irreversible Electroporation versus Cryoablation in a Rodent Model of Pancreatic Cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the differences in immune responses between cryoablation and irreversible electroporation (IRE) in a preclinical mouse model.

Material And Methods: A mouse pancreatic cancer cell line (PANC-2) was implanted in the bilateral flanks of mice, and tumor-bearing mice were divided into 6 groups. One of the tumors was ablated either with contact cryoablation using an argon-cooled cryoablation probe for 1 minute at 5% power or by IRE for a total of 64 100-μs-duration, 1250-V/cm pulses with 100-ms spacing.

Assessment and optimization of electroporation-assisted tumoral nanoparticle uptake in a nude mouse model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a particularly lethal form of cancer. In 2012, the incidence of PDAC was 43,920. Five-year survival for patients with PDAC is around 6%, regardless of staging, making PDAC one of the deadliest forms of cancer.

Dual-contrast cellular magnetic resonance imaging.

Negative contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods using magnetic susceptibility shifting agents have become one of the most important approaches in cellular imaging research. However, visualizing and tracking labeled cells on the basis of negative contrast is often met with limited specificity and sensitivity. Here we report on a MRI method for cellular imaging that generates a new contrast with a distinct topology for identifying labeled cells that has the potential to significantly improve both the sensitivity and the specificity.

Assessment of regional myocardial oxygenation changes in the presence of coronary artery stenosis with balanced SSFP imaging at 3.0 T: theory and experimental evaluation in canines.

Purpose: To examine the dependence of steady-state free-precession (SSFP) -based myocardial blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) contrast on field strength using theoretical and experimental models.

Materials And Methods: Numerical simulations using a two-pool exchange model and a surgically prepared dog model were used to assess the SSFP-based myocardial BOLD signal changes at 1.5T and 3.