Endovascular Thrombectomy preceded by intravenous Alteplase versus endovascular Thrombectomy alone in Han Chinese patients treated for acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion: a single-center retrospective analysis.

BACKGROUND: The American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association and the Chinese Stroke Association guidelines are recommending intravenous alteplase intervention before endovascular thrombectomy if patients are eligible to do so but the benefits of endovascular thrombectomy are different in Chinese patients with stroke than those of the white patients. The objective of the study was to compare outcomes of patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with endovascular thrombectomy with intravenous alteplase against those treated with endovascular thrombectomy alone. METHODS: A report is a retrospective analysis of comparing demographics, imaging, clinical and adverse outcomes in the Han Chinese patient who underwent mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion, with or without preceding intravenous alteplase administration. Patients with terminus and non-terminus intracranial occlusions and ≤ 2 points neurologic deficit underwent endovascular thrombectomy preceded by 0.9 mg/ kg intravenous alteplase (ET cohort, n = 184) and those who had contra-indication for intravenous alteplase were treated with endovascular thrombectomy alone (EA cohort, n = 141). RESULTS: The most common procedural complications were embolization into new territory (p = 0.866) and uneventful artery vasospasm (p = 0.712). Insignificant differences were reported for any procedural complications (p = 0.991), imaging outcomes, the modified Rankin scale score (p = 0.663), and death (28 vs. 24, p = 0.761) within 90 days between patients of both cohorts. At the discharge of the hospital, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores of patients of the ET cohort were lower than those of the EA cohort (8.58 ± 3.79 vs. 10.23 ± 4.97, p = 0.003). The Barthel Index of survivors at 90 days after endovascular thrombectomy was higher for patients of the ET cohort than those of the EA cohort (87.47 ± 12.58 vs. 84.01 ± 13.47, p = 0.032). The most common adverse effect was asymptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (p = 0.297). Insignificant differences were reported for adverse effects after thrombectomy between survivors of both cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: Outcome measures in Han Chinese patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with endovascular thrombectomy alone were statistically the same as those treated with endovascular thrombectomy plus intravenous alteplase. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Iii TECHNICAL EFFICACY STAGE: 4.

A Novel Multi-Sensor Fusion Algorithm Based on Uncertainty Analysis.

During the research and development of multiphase flowmeters, errors are often used to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different devices and algorithms, whilst an in-depth uncertainty analysis is seldom carried out. However, limited information is sometimes revealed from the errors, especially when the test data are scant, and this makes an in-depth comparison of different algorithms impossible. In response to this problem, three combinations of sensing methods are implemented, which are the "capacitance and cross-correlation", the "cross-correlation and differential pressure" and the "differential pressure and capacitance" respectively. The analytical expressions of the gas/liquid flowrate and the associated standard uncertainty have been derived, and Monte Carlo simulations are carried out to determine the desired probability density function. The results obtained through these two approaches are basically the same. Thereafter, the sources of uncertainty for each combination are traced and their respective variations with flowrates are analyzed. Further, the relationship between errors and uncertainty is studied, which demonstrates that the two uncertainty analysis approaches can be a powerful tool for error prediction. Finally, a novel multi-sensor fusion algorithm based on the uncertainty analysis is proposed. This algorithm can minimize the standard uncertainty over the whole flowrate range and thus reduces the measurement error.

A Wet Gas Metering System Based on the Extended-Throat Venturi Tube.

Although the use of a classical Venturi tube for wet gas metering has been extensively studied in the literature, the use of an extended-throat Venturi (ETV) tube has rarely been reported since its first proposal by J. R. Fincke in 1999. The structure of an ETV is very simple, but due to the complexity of multiphase flow, its theoretical model has not been fully established yet. Therefore, in this paper theoretical models have been developed for the convergent and throat sections of an ETV, and the gradients of front and rear differential pressures are derived analytically. Several flowrate algorithms have been proposed and compared with the existing ones. Among them, the iteration algorithm is found to be the best. A reasonable explanation is provided for its performance. The relationship between the differential pressure gradient and the flowrate relative error is also studied, such that the relative error distributions varying with ETV measured flowrates can be derived. The gas flowrate error of ETV increases with the liquid content whilst the liquid flowrate error of ETV decreases with the liquid content, and the relative errors of liquid flowrate are generally 2 to 3 times larger than that of the gas flowrate. Finally, the ETV tends to be more accurate than the classical Venturi tube. The ETV can be designed more compact under the same signal intensity due to its significantly higher velocity in the throat section.

Slot Antenna Integrated Re-Entrant Resonator Based Wireless Pressure Sensor for High-Temperature Applications.

The highly sensitive pressure sensor presented in this paper aims at wireless passive sensing in a high temperature environment by using microwave backscattering technology. The structure of the re-entrant resonator was analyzed and optimized using theoretical calculation, software simulation, and its equivalent lump circuit model was first modified by us. Micro-machining and high-temperature co-fired ceramic (HTCC) process technologies were applied to fabricate the sensor, solving the common problem of cavity sealing during the air pressure loading test. In addition, to prevent the response signal from being immersed in the strong background clutter of the hermetic metal chamber, which makes its detection difficult, we proposed two key techniques to improve the signal to noise ratio: the suppression of strong background clutter and the detection of the weak backscattered signal of the sensor. The pressure sensor demonstrated in this paper works well for gas pressure loading between 40 and 120 kPa in a temperature range of 24 °C to 800 °C. The experimental results show that the sensor resonant frequency lies at 2.1065 GHz, with a maximum pressure sensitivity of 73.125 kHz/kPa.

SIRT 1 Overexpression is Associated with Metastasis of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and Promotes Migration and Growth of PDAC Cells.

BACKGROUND SIRT 1, as a class III histone deacetylase (HDAC), is implicated in the initiation and progression of malignancies. However, the association of SIRT 1 with tumorigenesis or progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is not clear. MATERIAL AND METHODS In our study we investigated SIRT 1 expression in PDAC samples and evaluated the association of SIRT 1 level with the clinical and pathological characteristics of PDAC patients. We investigated the role of SIRT 1 in the migration and growth of PDAC PANC-1 or BxPC-3 cells using gain-of-function and loss-of-function approach. RESULTS We demonstrated that SIRT 1 mRNA level was significantly promoted in intra-tumor tissues compared to peri-tumor tissues of PDAC; and SIRT 1 overexpression was markedly associated with distant or lymph node (LN) metastasis of these PDAC tissues. Moreover, the in vitro wound healing assay demonstrated that SIRT 1 overexpression with lentivirus vector markedly promoted the migration of PANC-1 or BxPC-3 cells, whereas SIRT 1 knockdown using SIRT 1 specific siRNA transfection significantly inhibited the migration of PDAC cells. The colony forming assay confirmed SIRT 1 promotion of the growth of PANC-1 or BxPC-3 cells. CONCLUSIONS In summary, SIRT 1 overexpression is significantly associated with metastasis of PDAC, and overexpressed SIRT 1 plays an important role in pancreatic cancer cell migration and growth. Our data warrants further studies on SIRT 1 as a novel chemotherapeutic target in PDAC.

Dielectrically-Loaded Cylindrical Resonator-Based Wireless Passive High-Temperature Sensor.

The temperature sensor presented in this paper is based on a microwave dielectric resonator, which uses alumina ceramic as a substrate to survive in harsh environments. The resonant frequency of the resonator is determined by the relative permittivity of the alumina ceramic, which monotonically changes with temperature. A rectangular aperture etched on the surface of the resonator works as both an incentive and a coupling device. A broadband slot antenna fed by a coplanar waveguide is utilized as an interrogation antenna to wirelessly detect the sensor signal using a radio-frequency backscattering technique. Theoretical analysis, software simulation, and experiments verified the feasibility of this temperature-sensing system. The sensor was tested in a metal-enclosed environment, which severely interferes with the extraction of the sensor signal. Therefore, frequency-domain compensation was introduced to filter the background noise and improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the sensor signal. The extracted peak frequency was found to monotonically shift from 2.441 to 2.291 GHz when the temperature was varied from 27 to 800 °C, leading to an average absolute sensitivity of 0.19 MHz/°C.

Value of transrectal contrast-enhanced ultrasound with clinical indicators in the prediction of bone metastasis in prostate cancer.

Background: Transrectal contrast-enhanced ultrasound is an examination that can be used to diagnose and characterize prostate cancer by displaying tissue blood perfusion. To explore the value of transrectal contrast-enhanced ultrasound combined with clinical factors in predicting prostate cancer bone metastasis. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed transrectal contrast-enhanced ultrasound examination data, imaging examination data [single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT), CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and/or bone scan], clinical laboratory data, and pathological Gleason score of 163 patients with prostate cancer. They were randomly divided into the modeling and validation data sets. A model for predicting prostate cancer bone metastasis was established by logistic regression in the modeling data set. The differentiation, consistency, and benefits of the model were verified using the validation data set. A nomogram of the prediction model for bone metastasis of prostate cancer was drawn. Results: Among 163 patients with prostate cancer, 65 had bone metastasis. Total prostate-specific antigen, alkaline phosphatase, and the transrectal contrast-enhanced ultrasound parameter area under the curve were independently associated with prostate cancer bone metastasis, with OR values of 2.845, 2.839, and 1.004, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the prostate cancer bone metastasis prediction model was 0.804. In the training set, using a cutoff of 0.659, sensitivity was 52.8%, and specificity was 95.7%. In the validation set, using a cutoff of 0.659, sensitivity was 58.6%, and specificity was 98.1%. The area under the curve of the validation set was 0.799. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test showed that the calibration ability of the validation set was not statistically different from the training set (P=0.136). The decision curve analysis showed that the model had high benefits. Conclusions: The nomogram that includes the transrectal contrast-enhanced ultrasound parameter area under the curve and the clinical parameters total prostate-specific antigen, and alkaline phosphatase can be used to personalize the risk of prostate cancer bone metastases.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound diagnosis of prostatic sarcoma: Two case reports.

RATIONALE: Prostatic sarcoma (PS) is a very rare malignant tumor that accounts for <0.1% of prostate malignancies, and Ewing's sarcoma is an extremely rare form of PS. PATIENT CONCERNS: We reported on a 64-year-old patient with PS and a 36-year-old patient with Ewing's sarcoma, both of whom were examined by contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) before surgery. DIAGNOSES: The 2 cases were proven to be prostatic stromal sarcoma, which was confirmed by imaging manifestations and histopathological findings. INTERVENTIONS: The 64-year-old patient underwent radical prostatectomy, and the 36-year-old patient underwent chemotherapy combined with local radiotherapy. OUTCOMES: PS showed diffuse enlargement of the prostate on sonography, and the necrotic liquefying area within the large vessels could be clearly displayed by CEUS. CEUS can be advocated as a valuable noninvasive and safe imaging diagnosis method for PS.

Preliminary results of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) ultrasound imaging of breast lesions.

The aim of this study was to determine the appearance of breast lesions using acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI) and to correlate the ARFI values with the pathologic results. The area ratio (AR) and virtual touch tissue quantification (VTQ) values were analyzed in 86 patients (mean age 45.6 years, range 17-78 years) with 92 breast lesions (65 benign, 27 malignant; mean size 25.7 mm). The diagnostic performance of ultrasound (US) alone and US plus ARFI values were compared with respect to sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve (AUC) using a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The mean AR of the benign lesions (1.08 ± 0.21) differed from that of the malignant lesions (1.99 ± 0.63; p < 0.0001), as did the mean VTQ values (3.25 ± 2.03 m/s vs. 8.22 ± 1.27 m/s; p < 0.0001). In conclusion, ARFI provides quantitative elasticity measurements, which may complement B-mode US and potentially improve the characterization of breast lesions.

WITHDRAWN: Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) ultrasound imaging of breast lesions.

This article has been withdrawn at the request of the author(s) and/or editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy.