Preoperative prediction of early recurrence in patients with BRAF mutant colorectal cancer using a intergrated nomogram.

Objective To explore the predictive value of radiomics nomogram combining with CT radiomics features and clinical features for postoperative early recurrence in patients with BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer. Methods A total of 220 patients with surgically and pathologically confirmed BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer from 2 institutions were retrospectively included. All patients from institution 1 were randomized at a 7:3 ratio into a training cohort (n = 108) and an internal validation cohort (n = 45), and patients from institution 2 were used as an external validation cohort (n = 67). The association between the radiomics features and early recurrence was assessed in the training cohort and verified in the validation cohort. Furthermore, the performance of the radiomics nomogram was evaluated by combining the rad-score and clinical risk factors. The predictive performance was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, calibration curve analysis, and decision curve analysis. Results The dierenees in the Lymphocyte/monocyte ratio (LMR) and Peripheral nerve infiltration (PNI) were statistically significant between the early recurrence in BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer groups and the early non-recurrence in BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer groups (P < 0.05); The two groups showed no significant differenee in clinical parameters including age, sex, and biochemistry serum markers (P > 0.05). Comparing with the pure radiomics or clinical data, combined models can be seen that the addition of LMR and PNI further improveed the predictive efficiency of the model. The rad-score based on LR, generated by 4 selected radiomics features, demonstrated a favorable ability to predict early recurrence in both the training (AUC 0.81), internal validation (AUC 0.73), external validation (AUC 0.63) cohorts. Subsequently, integrating two independent predictors into a nomogram exhibited more favorable discriminatory performance, with the AUC improved to 0.88 and 0.81 in both cohorts. Conclusions The proposed CT-based radiomics signature is associated with early recurrence among the patients with BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer. The present study also proposes a combined model can potentially be applied in the individual preoperative prediction of early recurrence in patients with BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer. Advances in knowledge CT-based radiomics showed satisfactory diagnostic significance for early recurrence in patients with BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer. Key baseline clinical characteristics were associated with early recurrence in patients with BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer. The combined model may be applied in the individual preoperative prediction of early recurrence in patients with BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer.

Causal associations between gut microbiota and premature rupture of membranes: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Previous study has indicated a potential link between gut microbiota and maternal pregnancy outcomes. However, the causal relationship between gut microbiota and premature rupture of membranes (PROM) remains a topic of ongoing debate. Methods: A two-sample Mendelian Randomization (MR) study was used to investigate the relationship between gut microbiota and PROM. Genetic data on gut microbiota was obtained from the MiBioGen consortium's largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) (n=14,306). Genetic data on PROM (3011 cases and 104247 controls) were sourced from publicly available GWAS data from the Finnish National Biobank FinnGen consortium. Various methods including Inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, simple mode, weighted median, and weighted mode were utilized to assess the causal relationship by calculating the odd ratio (OR) value and confidence interval (CI). Sensitivity analyses for quality control were performed using MR-Egger intercept tests, Cochran's Q tests, and leave-one-out analyses. Results: The IVW method revealed that class Mollicutes (IVW, OR=0.773, 95%CI: 0.61-0.981, pval = 0.034), genus Marvinbryantia (IVW, OR=00.736, 95%CI: 0.555-0.977, pval = 0.034), genus Ruminooccaceae UCG003 (IVW, OR=0.734, 95%CI: 0.568-0.947, pval = 0.017) and phylum Tenericutes (IVW, OR=0.773, 95%CI: 0.566-1.067, pval = 0.034) were associated with a reduced risk of PROM, while genus Collinsella (IVW, OR=1.444, 95%CI: 1.028-2.026, pval = 0.034), genus Intestinibacter (IVW, OR=1.304, 95%CI: 1.047-1.623, pval = 0.018) and genus Turicibacter (IVW, OR=1.282, 95%CI: 1.02-1.611, pval = 0.033) increased the risk of PROM. Based on the other four supplementary methods, six gut microbiota may have a potential effect on PROM. Due to the presence of pleiotropy (pval=0.045), genus Lachnoclostridium should be ruled out. No evidence of horizontal pleiotropy or heterogeneity was found in other microbiota (pval >0.05). Conclusions: In this study, we have discovered a causal relationship between the presence of specific probiotics and pathogens in the host and the risk of PROM. The identification of specific gut microbiota associated with PROM through MR studies offers a novel approach to diagnosing and treating this condition, thereby providing a new strategy for clinically preventing PROM.

Global burden and risk factors of chronic kidney disease in adolescents and young adults: a study from 1990 to 2019.

Background: Few studies have evaluated the global burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adolescents and young adults (AYAs). Methods: Age-standardized rates of incidence (ASIR), mortality (ASMR), and disability-adjusted life-years (ASDR) were used to describe the CKD burden in AYAs. The estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) were calculated to evaluate the temporal trends from 1990 to 2019. Risk factors were calculated by population attributable fractions. Results: In 2019, the ASIR, ASMR, and ASDR of CKD in AYAs were 32.21 (95% uncertainty interval [UI], 23.73-40.81) per 100,000, 2.86 (2.61-3.11) per 100,000 and 236.85 (209.03-268.91) per 100,000, respectively. The ASIR was higher among females than males, whereas the ASMR was higher among males than females in 2019. From 1990 to 2019, significant increases in ASIR were found for CKD (EAPC, 0.98%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.95%-1.01%), although the ASMR had decreased (EAPC, -0.40%; 95% CI, -0.56% to -0.24%). The largest increase in ASIR was observed in countries with a middle sociodemographic index (SDI) (EAPC, 1.30%; 95% CI, 1.28%-1.33%), while the largest increase in ASMR was observed in high SDI. Globally, the proportional contribution of risk factors for CKD mortality varied across regions, with the highest proportions of high fasting plasma glucose being 14.04% in low SDI, compared with 24.01% in high SDI. Conclusion: CKD is a growing global health problem in AYAs, especially in countries with a middle SDI. Targeted measures are needed to address the rising burden of CKD in AYAs, focusing on prevention, early diagnosis, and reducing disparities.

Validation and application of the Dermatology Life Quality Index score, a modification of the DLQI score, in psoriasis patients.

BACKGROUND: All the scoring methods for the DLQI miss the moderate impact of the disease on patients, which may underestimate the impact of psoriasis on patients' quality of life. To improve the accuracy of the assessment of the Dermatology Life Quality Index score (DLQI) for patients with psoriasis, this study proposed and validated a new scoring method, the DLQI-NS, which includes the moderate impact option in the self-assessment of each item in psoriasis patients. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in which patients with psoriasis were enrolled. A total of 425 participants completed the DLQI, DLQI-NS and Skindex-16 questionnaires. Reliability, validity, ceiling and floor effects were evaluated of both DLQI and DLQI-NS questionnaires. RESULTS: About 14.4-32.5% of the patients reported a moderate impact on quality of life. The DLQI-NS allowed 17 more patients (4.0%) to achieve severe disease. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the DLQI-NS was 0.90, and that of the DLQI was 0.89. The KMO test results for the DLQI-NS and DLQI were 0.927 and 0.916, respectively. One factor was identified for each questionnaire. The items of the DLQI-NS showed an item-total correlation from 0.52 to 0.82, and the DLQI questionnaire's item-total correlation ranged from 0.47 to 0.83. The DLQI-NS, DLQI total score and Skindex-16 had Spearman's rank correlation coefficients of 0.89 and 0.84, respectively. Both the DLQI-NS and DLQI showed significant moderate correlations with the BSA (0.51 vs. 0.50) and PASI (0.47 vs. 0.46). No ceiling effects were observed for any of the items of both questionnaires. CONCLUSION: The validity and reliability of the DLQI-NS and DLQI were good, but the DLQI-NS was superior to the DLQI. The DLQI-NS is an effective self-assessment tool for assessing quality of life in psoriasis patients.

In situ comparison of osteogenic effects of polymer-based scaffolds with different degradability by integrated scaffold model.

Polymer-based scaffolds with different degradability have been investigated to screen the matrix whose degradation rate is more closely matched with the bone regeneration rate. However, these comparisons are inclined to be compromised by the animal individual differences. In this study, we constructed an integrated scaffold model comprising four parts with different degradability and bioactivity to achieve an in situ comparison of bone regeneration ability of different scaffolds. Slow-degradable polycaprolactone (PCL), fast-degradable poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), and silica-coated PCL and PLGA scaffolds were assembled into a round sheet to form a hydroxyapatite (HA)-free integrated scaffold. HA-doped PCL, PLGA, and silica-coated PCL and PLGA scaffolds were assembled to create an HA-incorporated integrated scaffold. The in vivo experimental results demonstrated that the local acid microenvironment caused by the rapid degradation of PLGA interfered with the osteogenic process promoted by PCL-based scaffolds in defect areas implanted with HA-free integrated scaffolds. Since the incorporation of HA alleviated the acidic microenvironment to some extent, each scaffold in HA-incorporated scaffolds exhibited its expected bone regeneration capacity. Consequently, it is feasible to construct an integrated structure for comparing the osteogenic effects of various scaffolds in situ, when there is no mutual interference between the materials. The strategy presented in this study inspired the structure design of biomaterials to enable in situ comparison of bone regeneration capacity of scaffolds.

Global burden, trends, and cross-country inequalities of urinary tract infections in adolescents and young adults, 1990 to 2019.

BACKGROUND: Limited studies have evaluated the global burden, trends, and cross-country inequalities for urinary tract infections (UTIs) in adolescents and young adults (AYAs). METHODS: Age-standardized incidence rate, age-standardized mortality rate, and age-standardized Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) rate were used to describe the UTI burden. The estimated annual percentage changes were calculated to evaluate the temporal trends from 1990 to 2019. The slope index of inequality and concentration index were utilized to quantify the distributive inequalities. RESULTS: From 1990 to 2019, a significant increase in age-standardized incidence rate (estimated annual percentage change =0.22%, 95% confidence interval 0.19%-0.26%) was found for UTIs in AYAs, and the increasing trend was more pronounced in males than females. Significant decreases in age-standardized mortality rate and age-standardized DALY rate were found in females but not in males. The slope index of inequality changed from 21.80 DALYs per 100,000 in 1990 to 20.91 DALYs per 100,000 in 2019 for UTIs in AYAs. Moreover, the concentration index showed -0.23 in 1990 and -0.14 in 2019. DISCUSSION: Countries with lower sociodemographic development levels shouldered a disproportionately higher UTI burden. CONCLUSIONS: UTIs remain an ongoing health burden for AYAs globally, with substantial heterogeneities found across countries, sex, and age groups.

A sequential macrophage activation strategy for bone regeneration: A micro/nano strontium-releasing composite scaffold loaded with lipopolysaccharide.

Effective tissue repair relies on the orchestration of different macrophage phenotypes, both the M2 phenotype (promotes tissue repair) and M1 phenotype (pro-inflammatory) deserve attention. In this study, we propose a sequential immune activation strategy to mediate bone regeneration, by loading lipopolysaccharide (LPS) onto the surface of a strontium (Sr) ions -contained composite scaffold, which was fabricated by combining Sr-doped micro/nano-hydroxyapatite (HA) and dual degradable matrices of polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA). Our strategy involves the sequential release of LPS to promote macrophage homing and induce the expression of the pro-inflammatory M1 phenotype, followed by the release of Sr ions to suppress inflammation. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that, the appropriate pro-inflammatory effects at the initial stage of implantation, along with the anti-inflammatory effects at the later stage, as well as the structural stability of the scaffolds conferred by the composition, can synergistically promote the regeneration and repair of bone defects.

Potential value of CT-based comprehensive nomogram in predicting occult lymph node metastasis of esophageal squamous cell paralaryngeal nerves: a two-center study.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to construct a combined model that integrates radiomics, clinical risk factors and machine learning algorithms to predict para-laryngeal lymph node metastasis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: A retrospective study included 361 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma from 2 centers. Radiomics features were extracted from the computed tomography scans. Logistic regression, k nearest neighbor, multilayer perceptron, light Gradient Boosting Machine, support vector machine, random forest algorithms were used to construct radiomics models. The receiver operating characteristic curve and The Hosmer-Lemeshow test were employed to select the better-performing model. Clinical risk factors were identified through univariate logistic regression analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis and utilized to develop a clinical model. A combined model was then created by merging radiomics and clinical risk factors. The performance of the models was evaluated using ROC curve analysis, and the clinical value of the models was assessed using decision curve analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1024 radiomics features were extracted. Among the radiomics models, the KNN model demonstrated the optimal diagnostic capabilities and accuracy, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.84 in the training cohort and 0.62 in the internal test cohort. Furthermore, the combined model exhibited an AUC of 0.97 in the training cohort and 0.86 in the internal test cohort. CONCLUSION: A clinical-radiomics integrated nomogram can predict occult para-laryngeal lymph node metastasis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and provide guidance for personalized treatment.

A chromosome-level genome of Chenghua pig provides new insights into the domestication and local adaptation of pigs.

As a country with abundant genetic resources of pigs, the domestication history of pigs in China and the adaptive evolution of Chinese pig breeds at different latitudes have rarely been elucidated at the genome-wide level. To fill this gap, we first assembled a high-quality chromosome-level genome of the Chenghua pig and used it as a benchmark to analyse the genomes of 272 samples from three genera of three continents. The divergence of the three species belonging to three genera, Phacochoerus africanus, Potamochoerus porcus, and Sus scrofa, was assessed. The introgression of pig breeds redefined that the migration routes were basically from southern China to central and southwestern China, then spread to eastern China, arrived in northern China, and finally reached Europe. The domestication of pigs in China occurred ∼12,000 years ago, earlier than the available Chinese archaeological domestication evidence. In addition, FBN1 and NR6A1 were identified in our study as candidate genes related to extreme skin thickness differences in Eurasian pig breeds and adaptive evolution at different latitudes in Chinese pig breeds, respectively. Our study provides a new resource for the pig genomic pool and refines our understanding of pig genetic diversity, domestication, migration, and adaptive evolution at different latitudes.

Escherichia coli and HPV16 coinfection may contribute to the development of cervical cancer.

Persistent human papillomavirus HPV infection is a necessary but insufficient condition for cervical cancer. Microorganisms are crucial environmental factors in cancers susceptibility and progression, recently attracting considerable attention. This study aimed to determine the infection status and relationship between high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) and lower genital tract infectious pathogens in cervical cancer and its precursors. From a retrospective and a prospective cohort analysis, Escherichia coli (E. coli) dominated the pathogens isolated from cervical discharges, and an isolation rate uptrend has been shown recently. HPV16 and E. coli's coinfection rate gradually increased with the severity of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. The adhesion and invasion abilities of the isolated E. coli to HPV16-positive SiHa cells were evaluated in vitro. The TCGA database and cervical tissues samples analysis showed that IL-10 was upregulated in cervical cancer. IL-10 expression levels increased in tissue samples with the severity of cervical cancer and its precursors with HPV16 and E. coli coinfection. Although no significant changes in IL-10 production were observed in the co-culture supernatant, we hypothesized that Treg immune cells in the tumour microenvironment might be responsible for the local IL-10 upregulation, according to our data showing Foxp3 upregulation and an upward trend with the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grading to cancer and tumours with E. coli and HPV16 coinfection. Our data provide insights into the possible role of E. coli in cervical cancer progression and suggest that the application of HPV and E. coli screening programs may be an effective strategy to relieve the burden of cervical cancer and its precursor lesions.

Identification and interruption of inheritance of familial cryptic translocations: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Cryptic translocations can be identified via genetic analysis of aborted tissues or malformed infants, but it is difficult to deduce the parental origins of the translocations. In the absence of such information, it is not easy to distinguish translocations from normal embryos during pre-implantation genetic testing, that seeks to block familial transmission of translocations. METHODS: Here, we present a new method that detects cryptic translocations and blocks familial transmission thereof. Whole-genome, low-coverage mate-pair sequencing (WGLMPS) revealed chromosome breakpoint sequences, and preimplantation genetic haplotyping (PGH) was then used to discard embryos with cryptic translocations. RESULTS: Cryptic translocations were found in all four families, and familial transmission was successfully blocked in one family. CONCLUSION: Whole-genome, low-coverage mate-pair sequencing combined with preimplantation genetic haplotyping methods powerfully and practically identify cryptic translocations and block familial transmissions.

[Interdisciplinary teaching-assisted education reform in "Principal Biology"].

General education in biological courses such as "Principal Biology" is an essential avenue for gaining an understanding of life science and developing an interest in the field. The reform of biological education teaching mode based on interdisciplinary approaches aims to foster cross-disciplinary talents, which is crucial for the rapid development of China's bioeconomy. Teaching method that simply superimposes different subjects is difficult to discover the value of interdisciplinary education. To address this, a novel teaching system and an innovative teaching mode were proposed for "Principal Biology" course by integrating science and engineering subjects, based on the cross-disciplinary feature in Beijing Institute of Technology. The system involves the design of cross-disciplinary course content and the integration of multiple disciplines and knowledge points based on students' majors, taking into account the characteristics of students' physical and mental development. To improve students' scientific literacy and interdisciplinary thinking ability, differentiated and major-driven teaching modes were applied by incorporating the "1+N" mixed and immersive cross-thinking training. The effectiveness of tailored cross-disciplinary teaching was evaluated using "in-teaching" and "post-teaching" data feedback models, which promote the optimization of teaching process and enhance the quality of education in cross-disciplinary biological science.

Elucidation of lipid nanoparticle surface structure in mRNA vaccines.

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have been used as a carrier for messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. Surface properties of LNPs are important to the stability and function of mRNA vaccines. Polyethylene-glycol (PEG) is a functional lipid at the surface of LNPs that improves colloidal stability, increases circulation time, and impacts cellular uptake. In this study, we explore in-depth lipid composition at the surface of mRNA-LNPs using high-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Our results provide a unique surface lipid profile of intact LNPs identifying PEG chains and partial ionizable lipids are present with quantification capability. The surface PEG density is determined to reveal the brush-like conformation on the surface of mRNA-LNPs. Furthermore, we implement a diffusion NMR strategy for routine testing of formulated drug products during drug development. Comparative NMR analysis of different vaccine preparations and stability samples provides a global view of the mRNA-LNP surface structure for enhanced product knowledge.

Proteomic profiling analysis of human endometrium in women with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion.

Unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) seriously affects female reproductive health, causing a great burden to patients both physically and mentally. Endometrial decidualization plays an important role in pregnancy, and impaired decidualization is an essential cause of URSA, but the cause of the damage is still poorly understood. This study aimed to reveal the pathogenesis of URSA by analyzing the differential protein expression profiles in the decidual tissue of patients with recurrent abortion compared to those with normal pregnancy. Morphological analysis revealed abnormal decidualization of endometrial tissue in patients with URSA. Quantitative proteomics analysis showed that a total of 146 differentially expressed proteins were identified between the two groups, among which 95 proteins were downregulated and 51 proteins were upregulated. Gene Ontology (GO) terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways revealed that the protein expression profile and signaling pathways of endometrium in patients with URSA changed significantly, and cytoskeleton remodeling and morphological transformation disorders were associated with abortion induced by incomplete decidualization. Meanwhile, transcription factors analysis showed that the 3 most affected families were zf-C2H2, MYB and HMG. Therefore, our study may provide a basis for searching for potential markers of decidualization injury. SIGNIFICANCE: At present, there are still about 50% of RSA patients with unknown causes, which brings great difficulties and blindness to clinical diagnosis and treatment.The limited proteomic studies on URSA further contribute to the lack of understanding in this field. However, in this study, the focus was on proteomic profiling analysis of the human endometrium in URSA patients compared to normal women. The findings revealed that cytoskeletal remodeling disorder is a significant contributor to the failure of decidualization in URSA patients. This insight highlights the potential role of cytoskeleton-related proteins in the pathogenesis of URSA, providing valuable information for further research and potential therapeutic interventions.

Prevalence and Risk Factors Underlying Occupational Stress and Depression Among Clinical Nurses in Secondary and Tertiary Hospitals of China During COVID-19 Setting.

Aim: This study was designed to develop an effective measurement tool for occupational stress among medical staff and to identify the underlying risk factors among clinical nurses in China under depression during and after COVID-19. Methods: In the first stage, an occupational stress scale was developed for medical staff based on qualitative and quantitative methods. The dimensions of the scale were based on childhood stress and seven other parameters of working stress. In the second stage, a provincial survey was conducted among clinical nurses in Hainan. The structure of Medical Staff Occupational Stress Scale was tested in secondary and tertiary hospitals. The socio-demographic information, occupational stress (measured using the developed scale), and current depression symptoms (assessed with the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire) were evaluated. The risk factors for occupational stress-induced depression were tested using multivariate logistic regression. Results: The Medical Staff Occupational Stress Scale consisted of 42 items under eight dimensions with strong reliability and validity. Almost 80% of the clinical nurses reported obvious symptoms of depression. Based on multivariate logistical regression analysis, the significant risk factors for depression in nurses at secondary hospitals and tertiary hospitals were childhood stress, teaching stress, relationship with patient stress, and administration stress. Conclusion: The Medical Staff Occupational Stress Scale utilized in nursing population is based on strong psychometric features. Childhood stress contributes to occupational stress in nurses. The selection of nurses for clinical work may require evaluation of past history for childhood stress to prevent occupational depression. Teaching stress, relationship with patient stress and administration stress play significant roles in the prevention of depression among clinical nurses.

SHP2 is involved in the occurrence, development and prognosis of cancer.

Src homology-2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase (SHP2), encoded by protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 11 (PTPN11), is widely expressed in several human tissue types, and plays an important role in a variety of diseases. The present study assessed the impact of SHP2 on the occurrence, development and prognosis of solid tumors. The transcriptome sequencing data of 33 cancer types were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. Clinical information of the corresponding patients, tumor mutational burden and information pertinent to microsatellite instability were also downloaded. The log-rank test and univariate Cox's regression test were used to evaluate patient survival. The 'ESTIMATE' method was used to assess the tumor microenvironment, and the 'CIBERSORT' algorithm was used to evaluate tumor immune cell infiltration. Spearman's correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between SHP2 expression and the targets identified. ELISA was used to assess the SHP2 expression levels in peripheral blood samples of patients with breast, ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancer. The data indicated that the expression levels of SHP2 were increased in a variety of tumor tissues, and were associated with tumor progression and prognosis. In peripheral blood, the positive rates of SHP2 expression in breast cancer (71.43%) and ovarian cancer (58.82%) were significantly higher than those in the corresponding control groups. However, the positive rates of SHP2 expression in patients with endometrial cancer (31.03%) and cervical cancer (41.30%) were significantly lower than those in the corresponding control groups. Increased SHP2 expression improved overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) time in patients with kidney renal clear cell carcinoma. However, increased SHP2 expression reduced OS and DFS in patients with urothelial carcinoma, and cervical and endocervical cancer types. Moreover, the elevated expression of SHP2 could also reduce the OS of patients with breast invasive carcinoma, mesothelioma and liver hepatocellular carcinoma. PTPN11 expression was associated with the tumor microenvironment of various tumor types. The tumor mutational burden of various tumor types was associated with microsatellite instability. PTPN11 inhibited T-cell activation and promoted M2 macrophage activation in several tumors. Therefore, SHP2 may be used in the evaluation of tumor progression and prognosis, and it may be an optimal potential biological target for cancer therapy.

Three-dimensional ultrasound image reconstruction based on 3D-ResNet in the musculoskeletal system using a 1D probe:ex vivoandin vivofeasibility studies.

Objective. Three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound (US) is needed to provide sonographers with a more intuitive panoramic view of the complex anatomical structure, especially the musculoskeletal system. In actual scanning, sonographers may perform fast scanning using a one-dimensional (1D) array probe .at random angles to gain rapid feedback, which leads to a large US image interval and missing regions in the reconstructed volume.Approach.In this study, a 3D residual network (3D-ResNet) modified by a 3D global residual branch (3D-GRB) and two 3D local residual branches (3D-LRBs) was proposed to retain detail and reconstruct high-quality 3D US volumes with high efficiency using only sparse two-dimensional (2D) US images. The feasibility and performance of the proposed algorithm were evaluated onex vivoandin vivosets.Main results. High-quality 3D US volumes in the fingers, radial and ulnar bones, and metacarpophalangeal joints were obtained by the 3D-ResNet, respectively. Their axial, coronal, and sagittal slices exhibited rich texture and speckle details. Compared with kernel regression, voxel nearest-neighborhood, squared distance weighted methods, and a 3D convolution neural network in the ablation study, the mean peak-signal-to-noise ratio and mean structure similarity of the 3D-ResNet were up to 28.53 ± 1.29 dB and 0.98 ± 0.01, respectively, and the corresponding mean absolute error dropped to 0.023 ± 0.003 with a better resolution gain of 1.22 ± 0.19 and shorter reconstruction time.Significance.These results illustrate that the proposed algorithm can rapidly reconstruct high-quality 3D US volumes in the musculoskeletal system in cases of a large amount of data loss. This suggests that the proposed algorithm has the potential to provide rapid feedback and precise analysis of stereoscopic details in complex and meticulous musculoskeletal system scanning with a less limited scanning speed and pose variations for the 1D array probe.

The clinical characteristics of acute cerebral infarction patients with thalassemia in a tropic area in China.

This study aimed to explore the clinical characteristics of acute cerebral infarction (ACI) patients with thalassemia through the analysis of clinical data. Adult patients with ACI who were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College, Hainan Provincial People's Hospital, and the Department of Neurology of Haikou People's Hospital from January 2008 to December 2018 were enrolled. According to the eligibility criteria, 183 ACI patients were examined, of whom there were 33 cases with thalassemia, 50 cases with iron-deficiency anemia (IDA), and 100 non-anemic cases. Laboratory data, including platelet count, homocysteine count, and hemoglobin level, were collected. Besides, the results of auxiliary examinations, such as brain magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography, carotid ultrasound, electrocardiogram, and cardiac color ultrasound, were collected. Baseline clinical data (e.g., history of smoking and drinking) were acquired. The clinical characteristics were compared and analyzed among the three groups. There were more female ACI patients with thalassemia than male ones. Furthermore, lesions in the thalassemia and IDA groups were mainly located in the region from the corona radiata and the centrum semiovale, in which multiple small infarcts were dominant. In the non-anemia group, patients' lesions were mainly found in the basal ganglia area, and single small infarcts had the highest proportion.