Hypointense Findings on Hepatobiliary Phase MR Images.

Hepatobiliary (HB) contrast agents are increasingly valuable diagnostic tools in MRI, offering a wider range of applications as their clinical use expands. Normal hepatocytes take up HB contrast agents, which are subsequently excreted in bile. This property creates a distinct HB phase providing valuable insights into liver function and biliary anatomy.

Deep learning reconstruction of zero-echo time sequences to improve visualization of osseous structures and associated pathologies in MRI of cervical spine.

Objectives: To determine whether deep learning-based reconstructions of zero-echo-time (ZTE-DL) sequences enhance image quality and bone visualization in cervical spine MRI compared to traditional zero-echo-time (ZTE) techniques, and to assess the added value of ZTE-DL sequences alongside standard cervical spine MRI for comprehensive pathology evaluation.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 52 patients underwent cervical spine MRI using ZTE, ZTE-DL, and T2-weighted 3D sequences on a 1.5-Tesla scanner.

Genetically-encoded targeted protein degradation technology to remove endogenous condensation-prone proteins and improve crop performance.

Effective modulation of gene expression in plants is achievable through tools like CRISPR and RNA interference, yet methods for directly modifying endogenous proteins remain lacking. Here, we identify the E3 ubiquitin ligase E3TCD1 and develope a Targeted Condensation-prone-protein Degradation (TCD) strategy. The X-E3TCD1 fusion protein acts as a genetically engineered degrader, selectively targeting endogenous proteins prone to condensation.

Metabolomics in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: A distinct profile in patients under methotrexate.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate biochemical quantitative metabolites in peripheral blood serum samples of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) patients and healthy controls. A cross-sectional study included 33 post-pubertal JIA (21 without and 12 with Methotrexate (MTX) women and 28 age-matched healthy controls. Metabolomic analyses based on targeted electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry were used to identify possible biochemical pathway modifications in serum from JIA patients.

Oral Regimens for Rifampin-Resistant, Fluoroquinolone-Susceptible Tuberculosis.

Background: For decades, poor treatment options and low-quality evidence plagued care for patients with rifampin-resistant tuberculosis. The advent of new drugs to treat tuberculosis and enhanced funding now permit randomized, controlled trials of shortened-duration, all-oral treatments for rifampin-resistant tuberculosis.

Methods: We conducted a phase 3, multinational, open-label, randomized, controlled noninferiority trial to compare standard therapy for treatment of fluoroquinolone-susceptible, rifampin-resistant tuberculosis with five 9-month oral regimens that included various combinations of bedaquiline (B), delamanid (D), linezolid (L), levofloxacin (Lfx) or moxifloxacin (M), clofazimine (C), and pyrazinamide (Z).

The promise of community-driven preprints in ecology and evolution.

Publishing preprints is quickly becoming commonplace in ecology and evolutionary biology. Preprints can facilitate the rapid sharing of scientific knowledge establishing precedence and enabling feedback from the research community before peer review. Yet, significant barriers to preprint use exist, including language barriers, a lack of understanding about the benefits of preprints and a lack of diversity in the types of research outputs accepted (e.

Utility of Computed Tomography Angiography of the Head in the Management of the Blunt Trauma Patient with Intracranial Hemorrhage.

Background: Computed tomography angiography of the head (CTAH) is not routinely obtained during the initial evaluation of patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (ICH); however, it is useful for diagnosing vascular pathologies that may have led to the bleed. The aims of this study were to identify traumatic ICH patient characteristics on presentation that are associated with positive CTAH findings to elucidate which ones should prompt a CTAH and compare outcomes of patients with positive and negative CTAH findings.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of 522 patients who had blunt traumatic ICH and subsequently received CTAH between January 1, 2017, and January 1, 2022.

Intraindividual Comparison of Image Quality Between Low-Dose and Ultra-Low-Dose Abdominal CT With Deep Learning Reconstruction and Standard-Dose Abdominal CT Using Dual-Split Scan.

Objective: The aim of this study was to intraindividually compare the conspicuity of focal liver lesions (FLLs) between low- and ultra-low-dose computed tomography (CT) with deep learning reconstruction (DLR) and standard-dose CT with model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) from a single CT using dual-split scan in patients with suspected liver metastasis via a noninferiority design.

Materials And Methods: This prospective study enrolled participants who met the eligibility criteria at 2 tertiary hospitals in South Korea from June 2022 to January 2023. The criteria included (a) being aged between 20 and 85 years and (b) having suspected or known liver metastases.

Regular Use of Oral Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs in a Population of Polish Seniors: Findings from the PolSenior2 Cross-Sectional Survey.

Introduction: Older adults represent a growing proportion of the general population. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) constitute a group of medicines that are both necessary, owing to their anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and cardioprotective abilities, and potentially harmful, owing to their side effects.

Objectives: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of NSAID usage patterns among Polish adults aged 60 years and older.

Review of Associations of Diabetes and Insulin Resistance With Brain Health in Three Harmonised Cohort Studies of Ageing and Dementia.

Diabetes increases the risk of dementia, and insulin resistance (IR) has emerged as a potential unifying feature. Here, we review published findings over the past 2 decades on the relation of diabetes and IR to brain health, including those related to cognition and neuropathology, in the Religious Orders Study, the Rush Memory and Aging Project, and the Minority Aging Research Study (ROS/MAP/MARS), three harmonised cohort studies of ageing and dementia at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center (RADC). A wide range of participant data, including information on medical conditions such as diabetes and neuropsychological tests, as well as other clinical and laboratory-based data collected annually.

Brensocatib in patients with bronchiectasis: subgroup analyses from the WILLOW trial.

Introduction: Bronchiectasis is a chronic inflammatory airway disease. Brensocatib, an oral, reversible inhibitor of dipeptidyl peptidase 1 (DPP1), reduces pulmonary inflammation by preventing the activation of neutrophil serine proteases. In the phase II WILLOW trial, brensocatib prolonged time to first exacerbation in patients with bronchiectasis.

Long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase regulates systemic lipid homeostasis via glycosylation-dependent lipoprotein production.

Interorgan lipid transport is crucial for organism development and the maintenance of physiological function. Here, we demonstrate that long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (dAcsl), which catalyzes the conversion of fatty acids into acyl-coenzyme As (acyl-CoAs), plays a critical role in regulating systemic lipid homeostasis. dAcsl deficiency in the fat body led to the ectopic accumulation of neutral lipids in the gut, along with significantly reduced lipoprotein contents in both the fat body and hemolymph.

Multiplexed spatial mapping of chromatin features, transcriptome and proteins in tissues.

The phenotypic and functional states of cells are modulated by a complex interactive molecular hierarchy of multiple omics layers, involving the genome, epigenome, transcriptome, proteome and metabolome. Spatial omics approaches have enabled the study of these layers in tissue context but are often limited to one or two modalities, offering an incomplete view of cellular identity. Here we present spatial-Mux-seq, a multimodal spatial technology that allows simultaneous profiling of five different modalities: two histone modifications, chromatin accessibility, whole transcriptome and a panel of proteins at tissue scale and cellular level in a spatially resolved manner.

Prediction of Radiation Therapy Induced Cardiovascular Toxicity from Pretreatment CT Images in Patients with Thoracic Malignancy via an Optimal Biomarker Approach.

Rationale And Objectives: Cardiovascular toxicity is a well-known complication of thoracic radiation therapy (RT), leading to increased morbidity and mortality, but existing techniques to predict cardiovascular toxicity have limitations. Predictive biomarkers of cardiovascular toxicity may help to maximize patient outcomes.

Methods: The machine learning optimal biomarker (OBM) method was employed to predict development of cardiotoxicity (based on serial echocardiographic measurements of left ventricular ejection fraction and longitudinal strain) from computed tomography (CT) images in patients with thoracic malignancy undergoing RT.

Health Expenditures of Patients With Diabetes After Bariatric Surgery: Comparing Gastric Bypass and Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Background: Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG) differ in their effects on body weight and risk for reoperation. However, it is unclear whether long-term health expenditures differ by procedure type in patients with diabetes.

Objective: To compare health expenditures 3 years before and 5.

Myocardial Inflammation in Cardiac Transthyretin Amyloidosis: Prevalence and Potential Prognostic Implications.

Background: Despite previous histopathologic evidence for its presence, the role of myocardial inflammation in the development and progression of cardiac transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) remains insufficiently understood. Thus, this study sought to characterize the prevalence and potential prognostic implications of myocardial inflammation in ATTR-CA.

Methods: A retrospective observational study including patients with ATTR-CA diagnosed by endomyocardial biopsy was conducted.

Early achievement of hemostasis defined by transfusion velocity: A possible mechanism for whole blood survival benefit.

Introduction: Whole blood resuscitation is associated with survival benefits in observational cohort studies. The mechanisms responsible for outcome benefits have not been adequately determined. We sought to characterize the achievement of hemostasis across patients receiving early whole blood versus component resuscitation.

Characterization of Hospital Admissions During Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy: Insights From the ICOG Study.

Introduction: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have improved the therapeutic arsenal in outpatient oncology care; however, data on necessity of hospitalizations associated with immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are scarce. Here, we characterized hospitalizations of patients undergoing ICI, from the prospective cohort study of the immune cooperative oncology group (ICOG) Hannover.

Methods: Between 12/2019 and 06/2022, 237 patients were included.

Female agency and probable depression in the perinatal period and beyond: Longitudinal findings from rural Pakistan.

In Pakistan, a setting with high gender inequality, the relationship between female agency and mental health has not been studied longitudinally or beyond a defined life stage like pregnancy. Using data from the Bachpan cohort of mother-infant dyads in Pakistan, we investigated female agency and depression at two life stages: perinatal (third trimester to 6-months postpartum; n = 1154) and beyond (3- to 4-years postpartum). Modified Poisson models estimated adjusted prevalence ratios (PR) for probable depression (PHQ-9) associated with female agency (freedom of movement and participation in household decision-making) at the two life stages.

Protocol for the generation of HLF+ HOXA+ human hematopoietic progenitor cells from pluripotent stem cells.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) generate blood and immune cells. Here, we present a protocol to differentiate human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into hematopoietic progenitors that express the signature HSC transcription factors HLF, HOXA5, HOXA7, HOXA9, and HOXA10. hPSCs are dissociated, seeded, and then sequentially differentiated into posterior primitive streak, lateral mesoderm, artery endothelium, hemogenic endothelium, and hematopoietic progenitors through the sequential addition of defined, serum-free media.

Response to azathioprine treatment in autoimmune hepatitis is dependent on glutathione transferase genotypes.

Background: Azathioprine (AZA) is part of the standard treatment for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). The first step in the complex bioconversion of AZA to active metabolites is mediated by glutathione transferases (GSTs).

Aims: Elucidate the association between GSTM1 and GSTT1 copy number variation (CNV), genetic variation in GSTA2, GSTP1, and inosine-triphosphate-pyrophosphatase, and the response to AZA in AIH.