The ATFL inferior fascicle, the CFL and the PTFL have a continuous footprint at the medial side of the fibula.

PURPOSE: Knowledge of the complex anatomy of the lateral ankle ligaments is essential to understand its function, pathophysiology and treatment options. This study aimed to assess the lateral ligaments and their relationships through a 3D view achieved by digitally marking their footprints. METHODS: Eleven fresh-frozen ankle specimens were dissected. The calcaneus, talus and fibula were separated, maintaining the lateral ligament footprints. Subsequently, each bone was assessed by a light scanner machine. Finally, all the scans were converted to 3D polygonal models. The footprint areas of the talus, calcaneus and fibula were selected, analysed and the surface area was quantified in cm2. RESULTS: After scanning the bones, the anterior talofibular ligament inferior fascicle (ATFLif), calcaneofibular ligament (CFL) and posterior talofibular ligament (PTFL) footprints were continuous at the medial side of the fibula, corresponding to a continuous footprint with a mean area of 4.8 cm2 (± 0.7). The anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) footprint on the talus consisted of 2 parts in 9 of the 11 feet, whilst there was a continuous insertion in the other 2 feet. The CFL insertion on the calcaneus was one single footprint in all cases. CONCLUSION: The tridimensional analysis of the lateral ligaments of the ankle demonstrates that the ATFLif, CFL and PTFL have a continuous footprint at the medial side of the fibula in all analysed specimens. These data can assist the surgeon in interpreting the ligament injuries, improving the imaging assessment and guiding the surgeon to repair and reconstruct the ligaments in an anatomical position.

Chemical intervention of influenza virus mRNA nuclear export.

Influenza A viruses are human pathogens with limited therapeutic options. Therefore, it is crucial to devise strategies for the identification of new classes of antiviral medications. The influenza A virus genome is constituted of 8 RNA segments. Two of these viral RNAs are transcribed into mRNAs that are alternatively spliced. The M1 mRNA encodes the M1 protein but is also alternatively spliced to yield the M2 mRNA during infection. M1 to M2 mRNA splicing occurs at nuclear speckles, and M1 and M2 mRNAs are exported to the cytoplasm for translation. M1 and M2 proteins are critical for viral trafficking, assembly, and budding. Here we show that gene knockout of the cellular protein NS1-BP, a constituent of the M mRNA speckle-export pathway and a binding partner of the virulence factor NS1 protein, inhibits M mRNA nuclear export without altering bulk cellular mRNA export, providing an avenue to preferentially target influenza virus. We performed a high-content, image-based chemical screen using single-molecule RNA-FISH to label viral M mRNAs followed by multistep quantitative approaches to assess cellular mRNA and cell toxicity. We identified inhibitors of viral mRNA biogenesis and nuclear export that exhibited no significant activity towards bulk cellular mRNA at non-cytotoxic concentrations. Among the hits is a small molecule that preferentially inhibits nuclear export of a subset of viral and cellular mRNAs without altering bulk cellular mRNA export. These findings underscore specific nuclear export requirements for viral mRNAs and phenocopy down-regulation of the mRNA export factor UAP56. This RNA export inhibitor impaired replication of diverse influenza A virus strains at non-toxic concentrations. Thus, this screening strategy yielded compounds that alone or in combination may serve as leads to new ways of treating influenza virus infection and are novel tools for studying viral RNA trafficking in the nucleus.

Modeling SARS-CoV-2: Comparative Pathology in Rhesus Macaque and Golden Syrian Hamster Models.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in humans has a wide range of presentations, ranging from asymptomatic or mild symptoms to severe illness. Suitable animal models mimicking varying degrees of clinical disease manifestations could expedite development of therapeutics and vaccines for COVID-19. Here we demonstrate that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection resulted in subclinical disease in rhesus macaques with mild pneumonia and clinical disease in Syrian hamsters with severe pneumonia. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed by formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunohistochemistry, or in situ hybridization. Replicating virus in the lungs was identified using in situ hybridization or virus plaque forming assays. Viral encephalitis, reported in some COVID-19 patients, was identified in one macaque and was confirmed with immunohistochemistry. There was no evidence of encephalitis in hamsters. Severity and distribution of lung inflammation were substantially more in hamsters compared with macaques and exhibited vascular changes and virus-induced cytopathic changes as seen in COVID-19 patients. Neither the hamster nor macaque models demonstrated evidence for multisystemic inflammatory syndrome (MIS). Data presented here demonstrate that macaques may be appropriate for mechanistic studies of mild asymptomatic COVID-19 pneumonia and COVID-19-associated encephalitis, whereas Syrian hamsters may be more suited to study severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Deep Learning Achieves Neuroradiologist-Level Performance in Detecting Hydrocephalus Requiring Treatment.

In large clinical centers a small subset of patients present with hydrocephalus that requires surgical treatment. We aimed to develop a screening tool to detect such cases from the head MRI with performance comparable to neuroradiologists. We leveraged 496 clinical MRI exams collected retrospectively at a single clinical site from patients referred for any reason. This diagnostic dataset was enriched to have 259 hydrocephalus cases. A 3D convolutional neural network was trained on 16 manually segmented exams (ten hydrocephalus) and subsequently used to automatically segment the remaining 480 exams and extract volumetric anatomical features. A linear classifier of these features was trained on 240 exams to detect cases of hydrocephalus that required treatment with surgical intervention. Performance was compared to four neuroradiologists on the remaining 240 exams. Performance was also evaluated on a separate screening dataset of 451 exams collected from a routine clinical population to predict the consensus reading from four neuroradiologists using images alone. The pipeline was also tested on an external dataset of 31 exams from a 2nd clinical site. The most discriminant features were the Magnetic Resonance Hydrocephalic Index (MRHI), ventricle volume, and the ratio between ventricle and brain volume. At matching sensitivity, the specificity of the machine and the neuroradiologists did not show significant differences for detection of hydrocephalus on either dataset (proportions test, p > 0.05). ROC performance compared favorably with the state-of-the-art (AUC 0.90-0.96), and replicated in the external validation. Hydrocephalus cases requiring treatment can be detected automatically from MRI in a heterogeneous patient population based on quantitative characterization of brain anatomy with performance comparable to that of neuroradiologists.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-encoded microRNAs: potential biomarkers and clinical applications.

HCMV-encoded microRNAs (hcmv-miRNAs) are non-coding and non-immunogenic molecules that target numerous cellular genes and allow the virus to modulate the host's signalling pathways, thus favouring viral survival and replication. Given their capacity to silence the human genes involved in various physiological processes, these hcmv-miRNAs have now emerged as a potential clinical biomarker in many human diseases. In this review, we summarize the evidence published on the diagnostic and prognostic value of hcmv-miRNAs in several human diseases and their clinical implications. Specifically, we discuss the role of hcmv-miRNAs in the development of cardiovascular diseases and cancer by silencing tumour suppressors. We also examine the current knowledge on the utility of some hcmv-miRNAs in predicting HCMV viraemia recurrence in transplant patients, as well as the interference of hcmv-miRNAs in the development of an appropriate immune response against other viral infections, which might have therapeutic implications.Abbreviations: HCMV, human cytomegalovirus; hcmv-miRNA, HCMV-encoded microRNAs.

Differential Modulation of Innate Immune Responses in Human Primary Cells by Influenza A Viruses Carrying Human or Avian Nonstructural Protein 1.

The influenza A virus (IAV) nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) contributes to disease pathogenesis through the inhibition of host innate immune responses. Dendritic cells (DCs) release interferons (IFNs) and proinflammatory cytokines and promote adaptive immunity upon viral infection. In order to characterize the strain-specific effects of IAV NS1 on human DC activation, we infected human DCs with a panel of recombinant viruses with the same backbone (A/Puerto Rico/08/1934) expressing different NS1 proteins from human and avian origin. We found that these viruses induced a clearly distinct phenotype in DCs. Specifically, viruses expressing NS1 from human IAV (either H1N1 or H3N2) induced higher levels of expression of type I (IFN-α and IFN-ß) and type III (IFN-λ1 to IFNλ3) IFNs than viruses expressing avian IAV NS1 proteins (H5N1, H7N9, and H7N2), but the differences observed in the expression levels of proinflammatory cytokines like tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) or interleukin-6 (IL-6) were not significant. In addition, using imaging flow cytometry, we found that human and avian NS1 proteins segregate based on their subcellular trafficking dynamics, which might be associated with the different innate immune profile induced in DCs by viruses expressing those NS1 proteins. Innate immune responses induced by our panel of IAV recombinant viruses were also characterized in normal human bronchial epithelial cells, and the results were consistent with those in DCs. Altogether, our results reveal an increased ability of NS1 from avian viruses to antagonize innate immune responses in human primary cells compared to the ability of NS1 from human viruses, which could contribute to the severe disease induced by avian IAV in humans.IMPORTANCE Influenza A viruses (IAVs) cause seasonal epidemics which result in an important health and economic burden. Wild aquatic birds are the natural host of IAV. However, IAV can infect diverse hosts, including humans, domestic poultry, pigs, and others. IAVs circulating in animals occasionally cross the species barrier, infecting humans, which results in mild to very severe disease. In some cases, these viruses can acquire the ability to be transmitted among humans and initiate a pandemic. The nonstructural 1 (NS1) protein of IAV is an important antagonist of the innate immune response. In this study, using recombinant viruses and primary human cells, we show that NS1 proteins from human and avian hosts show intrinsic differences in the modulation of the innate immunity in human dendritic cells and epithelial cells, as well as different cellular localization dynamics in infected cells.

Influenza Virus NS1 Protein-RNA Interactome Reveals Intron Targeting.

The NS1 protein of influenza A virus is a multifunctional virulence factor that inhibits cellular processes to facilitate viral gene expression. While NS1 is known to interact with RNA and proteins to execute these functions, the cellular RNAs that physically interact with NS1 have not been systematically identified. Here we reveal a NS1 protein-RNA interactome and show that NS1 primarily binds intronic sequences. Among this subset of pre-mRNAs is the RIG-I pre-mRNA, which encodes the main cytoplasmic antiviral sensor of influenza virus infection. This suggested that NS1 interferes with the antiviral response at a posttranscriptional level by virtue of its RNA binding properties. Indeed, we show that NS1 is necessary in the context of viral infection and sufficient upon transfection to decrease the rate of RIG-I intron removal. This NS1 function requires a functional RNA binding domain and is independent of the NS1 interaction with the cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor CPSF30. NS1 has been previously shown to abrogate RIG-I-mediated antiviral immunity by inhibiting its protein function. Our data further suggest that NS1 also posttranscriptionally alters RIG-I pre-mRNA processing by binding to the RIG-I pre-mRNA.IMPORTANCE A key virulence factor of influenza A virus is the NS1 protein, which inhibits various cellular processes to facilitate viral gene expression. The NS1 protein is localized in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm during infection. In the nucleus, NS1 has functions related to inhibition of gene expression that involve protein-protein and protein-RNA interactions. While several studies have elucidated the protein interactome of NS1, we still lack a clear and systematic understanding of the NS1-RNA interactome. Here we reveal a nuclear NS1-RNA interactome and show that NS1 primarily binds intronic sequences within a subset of pre-mRNAs, including the RIG-I pre-mRNA that encodes the main cytoplasmic antiviral sensor of influenza virus infection. Our data here further suggest that NS1 is necessary and sufficient to impair intron processing of the RIG-I pre-mRNA. These findings support a posttranscriptional role for NS1 in the inhibition of RIG-I expression.

Influenza virus differentially activates mTORC1 and mTORC2 signaling to maximize late stage replication.

Influenza A virus usurps host signaling factors to regulate its replication. One example is mTOR, a cellular regulator of protein synthesis, growth and motility. While the role of mTORC1 in viral infection has been studied, the mechanisms that induce mTORC1 activation and the substrates regulated by mTORC1 during influenza virus infection have not been established. In addition, the role of mTORC2 during influenza virus infection remains unknown. Here we show that mTORC2 and PDPK1 differentially phosphorylate AKT upon influenza virus infection. PDPK1-mediated phoshorylation of AKT at a distinct site is required for mTORC1 activation by influenza virus. On the other hand, the viral NS1 protein promotes phosphorylation of AKT at a different site via mTORC2, which is an activity dispensable for mTORC1 stimulation but known to regulate apoptosis. Influenza virus HA protein and down-regulation of the mTORC1 inhibitor REDD1 by the virus M2 protein promote mTORC1 activity. Systematic phosphoproteomics analysis performed in cells lacking the mTORC2 component Rictor in the absence or presence of Torin, an inhibitor of both mTORC1 and mTORC2, revealed mTORC1-dependent substrates regulated during infection. Members of pathways that regulate mTORC1 or are regulated by mTORC1 were identified, including constituents of the translation machinery that once activated can promote translation. mTORC1 activation supports viral protein expression and replication. As mTORC1 activation is optimal midway through the virus life cycle, the observed effects on viral protein expression likely support the late stages of influenza virus replication when infected cells undergo significant stress.

Morphological MRI-based features provide pretreatment survival prediction in glioblastoma.

OBJECTIVES: We wished to determine whether tumor morphology descriptors obtained from pretreatment magnetic resonance images and clinical variables could predict survival for glioblastoma patients. METHODS: A cohort of 404 glioblastoma patients (311 discoveries and 93 validations) was used in the study. Pretreatment volumetric postcontrast T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were segmented to obtain the relevant morphological measures. Kaplan-Meier, Cox proportional hazards, correlations, and Harrell's concordance indexes (c-indexes) were used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: A linear prognostic model based on the outstanding variables (age, contrast-enhanced (CE) rim width, and surface regularity) identified a group of patients with significantly better survival (p < 0.001, HR = 2.57) with high accuracy (discovery c-index = 0.74; validation c-index = 0.77). A similar model applied to totally resected patients was also able to predict survival (p < 0.001, HR = 3.43) with high predictive value (discovery c-index = 0.81; validation c-index = 0.92). Biopsied patients with better survival were well identified (p < 0.001, HR = 7.25) by a model including age and CE volume (c-index = 0.87). CONCLUSIONS: Simple linear models based on small sets of meaningful MRI-based pretreatment morphological features and age predicted survival of glioblastoma patients to a high degree of accuracy. The partition of the population using the extent of resection improved the prognostic value of those measures. KEY POINTS: • A combination of two MRI-based morphological features (CE rim width and surface regularity) and patients' age outperformed previous prognosis scores for glioblastoma. • Prognosis models for homogeneous surgical procedure groups led to even more accurate survival prediction based on Kaplan-Meier analysis and concordance indexes.

Correction to: Morphological MRI-based features provide pretreatment survival prediction in glioblastoma.

The original version of this article, published on 15 October 2018, unfortunately contained a mistake. The following correction has therefore been made in the original: The name of Mariano Amo-Salas and the affiliation of Ismael Herruzo were presented incorrectly.

Temperament in child and adolescent offspring of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Shared vulnerability in offspring of individuals with schizophrenia (SzO) and bipolar disorder (BpO) might manifest early during development through common temperament traits. Temperament dimensions in child and adolescent BpO (N = 80), SzO (N = 34) and the offspring of community controls (CcO) (N = 101) were assessed using the Revised Dimensions of Temperament Survey. The association between temperament dimensions and lifetime psychopathology (including threshold and subthreshold DSM-IV-TR diagnoses) and current socio-academic adjustment was assessed using logistic regression. Fully adjusted models showed that both BpO and SzO scored significantly lower in the positive mood dimension and in the adaptability factor than CcO, with small-medium effect sizes (Cohen's d ~ 0.3-0.5). BpO also scored lower in the activity factor and the activity dimensions than CcO (Cohen's d ~ 0.3). Lower scores in the positive mood dimension were associated with increased risk of impaired adjustment both in BpO [OR 2.30, 95% CI (1.18-4.46)] and in SzO [OR 2.87, 95% CI (1.07-7.66)]. In BpO, lower scores in positive mood were also associated with increased likelihood of internalizing [OR 1.84, 95% CI (1.28-2.64)] and externalizing disorders [OR 1.48, 95% CI (1.01-2.18)]; in SzO, higher scores in activity and flexibility were associated with increased likelihood of internalizing [OR 2.31, 95% CI (1.22-4.38)] and externalizing disorders [OR 3.28, 95% CI (1.2-9)], respectively. Early difficulties in emotion regulation might represent a shared vulnerability phenotype in BpO and SzO. The identification of extreme temperament traits could help to characterize subgroups at greater risk of psychopathology and impaired adjustment, in which targeted interventions are warranted.

Extensive renal sinus lipomatosis in xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis simulating liposarcoma.

Renal replacement lipomatosis is a condition characterized by varying degrees of renal parenchymal atrophy and perirenal fibrofatty proliferation secondary to chronic inflammation such as xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis. In severe cases, imaging findings can be misdiagnosed as retroperitoneal liposarcoma.

Cholesterol Flux Is Required for Endosomal Progression of African Swine Fever Virions during the Initial Establishment of Infection.

UNLABELLED: African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a major threat for porcine production that has been slowly spreading in Eastern Europe since its first appearance in the Caucasus in 2007. ASFV enters the cell by endocytosis and gains access to the cytosol to start replication from late endosomes and multivesicular bodies. Cholesterol associated with low-density lipoproteins entering the cell by endocytosis also follows a trafficking pathway similar to that of ASFV. Here we show that cholesterol plays an essential role in the establishment of infection as the virus traffics through the endocytic pathway. In contrast to the case for other DNA viruses, such as vaccinia virus or adenovirus 5, cholesterol efflux from endosomes is required for ASFV release/entry to the cytosol. Accumulation of cholesterol in endosomes impairs fusion, resulting in retention of virions inside endosomes. ASFV also remodels intracellular cholesterol by increasing its cellular uptake and redistributes free cholesterol to viral replication sites. Our analysis reveals that ASFV manipulates cholesterol dynamics to ensure an appropriate lipid flux to establish productive infection. IMPORTANCE: Since its appearance in the Caucasus in 2007, African swine fever (ASF) has been spreading westwards to neighboring European countries, threatening porcine production. Due to the lack of an effective vaccine, ASF control relies on early diagnosis and widespread culling of infected animals. We investigated early stages of ASFV infection to identify potential cellular targets for therapeutic intervention against ASF. The virus enters the cell by endocytosis, and soon thereafter, viral decapsidation occurs in the acid pH of late endosomes. We found that ASFV infection requires and reorganizes the cellular lipid cholesterol. ASFV requires cholesterol to exit the endosome to gain access to the cytoplasm to establish productive replication. Our results indicate that there is a differential requirement for cholesterol efflux for vaccinia virus or adenovirus 5 compared to ASFV.

Multidimensional psychosocial profiles in the elderly and happiness: a cluster-based identification.

OBJECTIVES: Evidence supports that subjective well-being (SWB) diminishes in the old age and that this decline is strongly determined by elders' psychosocial resources. This study explored person-centred, multidimensional, empirically-derived profiles of psychosocial functioning in the elderly and related each trajectory to differing configurations of SWB. METHOD: A community-based, convenience sample of Spanish institutionalised and non-institutionalised elders voluntarily participated in this cross-sectional study. RESULTS: A cluster analysis produced three within-person psychosocial profiles characterised by distinct patterns of functioning: highly successful elders demonstrated to be healthy, highly confident in their own resources and very active in daily life; moderately successful elders demonstrated average functioning across domains, although they expected decreases in the future; and highly impaired elders were ill and stressed, at a high risk for future health problems and depression, and tried to compensate for their status mainly through social support. Each of these profiles was related differently to SWB configurations: highly successful elders demonstrated significantly higher happiness, positive affect, affect balance and life satisfaction; moderately successful elders showed average levels of SWB but decreased positive affect; and highly impaired elders demonstrated dramatically lower SWB. Furthermore, such trajectories were associated with the elders' living condition. The happiest elders were more likely to be home-dwelling elders; however, there were fewer unhappy elders among those who were institutionalised. CONCLUSION: A person-centred approach to assessing psychosocial and SWB configurations provides a rich picture of individual differences in the ageing processes and can help in designing interventions aimed at enhancing happiness in old age.

Promising Phytogenic Feed Additives Used as Anti-Mycotoxin Solutions in Animal Nutrition.

Mycotoxins are a major threat to animal and human health, as well as to the global feed supply chain. Among them, aflatoxins, fumonisins, zearalenone, T-2 toxins, deoxynivalenol, and Alternaria toxins are the most common mycotoxins found in animal feed, with genotoxic, cytotoxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic effects that concern the animal industry. The chronic negative effects of mycotoxins on animal health and production and the negative economic impact on the livestock industry make it crucial to develop and implement solutions to mitigate mycotoxins. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the mycotoxicosis effect in livestock animals as a result of their contaminated diet. In addition, we discuss the potential of five promising phytogenics (curcumin, silymarin, grape pomace, olive pomace, and orange peel extracts) with demonstrated positive effects on animal performance and health, to present them as potential anti-mycotoxin solutions. We describe the composition and the main promising characteristics of these bioactive compounds that can exert beneficial effects on animal health and performance, and how these phytogenic feed additives can help to alleviate mycotoxins' deleterious effects.

Cracking the code to female sexual satisfaction: the serial mediation of sexual behavior and the perceived importance of healthy sexuality from sexual self-efficacy.

Introduction: Sexual satisfaction has been shown to have a strong association with many aspects of sexual health and wellbeing. It is further considered a robust indicator of an individual's health status and general wellbeing, revealing that a person can enjoy pleasurable and healthy sexual experiences, beyond the mere absence of sexual and reproductive health issues. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the relationship between sexual satisfaction, sexual behaviors, sexual self-efficacy, and the importance personally attributed to maintaining an active and satisfying sexual life among young and middle-aged women aged 18-50. Design: A descriptive correlational study with a cross-sectional design was conducted. Methods: Participants (N = 1,076 women) completed self-reports on sexual self-efficacy beliefs, frequency of sexual behaviors, the importance attributed to active and healthy sexuality, and multidimensional sexual satisfaction. Results: The supported mediation model indicated that sexual self-efficacy was related to sexual satisfaction directly and indirectly through sexual behavior and a serial path through sexual behavior and the perceived importance of healthy sexuality. The total effect was significant, and the full model explained 7.3% of the global sexual satisfaction variance (F = 17.218, p = 0.000), with the mediated effect accounting for 44.3%. Conclusion: This study confirms a partial serial mediation model by which sexual self-efficacy significantly predicts sexual satisfaction through sexual behaviors and the importance attributed to a healthy sexuality. Due to its significant contribution, the perceived importance of sexuality should be considered when studying correlates of sexual satisfaction. These findings have interesting implications for the development of strategies aimed at sexual health promotion and sexual education among women in early and middle adulthood.

Analysis of domain shift in whole prostate gland, zonal and lesions segmentation and detection, using multicentric retrospective data.

Despite being one of the most prevalent forms of cancer, prostate cancer (PCa) shows a significantly high survival rate, provided there is timely detection and treatment. Computational methods can help make this detection process considerably faster and more robust. However, some modern machine-learning approaches require accurate segmentation of the prostate gland and the index lesion. Since performing manual segmentations is a very time-consuming task, and highly prone to inter-observer variability, there is a need to develop robust semi-automatic segmentation models. In this work, we leverage the large and highly diverse ProstateNet dataset, which includes 638 whole gland and 461 lesion segmentation masks, from 3 different scanner manufacturers provided by 14 institutions, in addition to other 3 independent public datasets, to train accurate and robust segmentation models for the whole prostate gland, zones and lesions. We show that models trained on large amounts of diverse data are better at generalizing to data from other institutions and obtained with other manufacturers, outperforming models trained on single-institution single-manufacturer datasets in all segmentation tasks. Furthermore, we show that lesion segmentation models trained on ProstateNet can be reliably used as lesion detection models.

QuantiFERON-CMV assay by chemiluminescence immunoassay: Is it more suitable for real-live monitoring of transplant patients?

BACKGROUND: The QuantiFERONCMV (QF-CMV) assay is an interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) used to monitor CMV-specific cell-mediated immunity (CMV-CMI) by ELISA in transplant patients. However, a chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) has been developed to quantify IFNG in the QuantiFERON-Tuberculosis (TB) to detect latent TB infection. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this work is to compare the results of QF-CMV by ELISA with those obtained by CLIA in an automated Liaison XL analyzer using the QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus reagents. STUDY DESIGN: The QF-CMV assay had been performed by ELISA in kidney and lung transplant patients between July 2019-April 2023 at the IMIBIC/Reina Sofía Hospital (Cordoba, Spain). The remaining QF-CMV supernatants had been preserved at -80 ºC from then. Now, the IFNG levels in the same samples were determined by CLIA. RESULTS: One hundred and three QF-CMV supernatants from kidney (n = 50) and lung (n = 53) transplant patients were selected. An agreement of 87.4 % (kappa coefficient 0.788) between CLIA and ELISA was observed. Thirteen (12.6 %) discrepant results were detected. Some Indeterminate results by ELISA converted to Non-reactive by CLIA (0.53-0.92 IU/mL for Mitogen-Nil values). Likewise, borderline Non-reactive results by ELISA were above the 0.2 IU/mL cut-off by CLIA and then were Reactive (0.21-0.31 for CMV-Nil values). CONCLUSION: CLIA shows substantial concordance with ELISA and acceptable discrepancies. The possible higher sensitivity of CLIA returns a higher number of Reactive results, which entails potential clinical consequences. Therefore, a new threshold to confer protection against CMV infection after transplantation needs to be defined.

Tumor Volume Growth Rates and Doubling Times during Active Surveillance of IDH-mutant Low-Grade Glioma.

PURPOSE: Isocitrate dehydrogenase-mutant (IDH-mt) gliomas are incurable primary brain tumors characterized by a slow-growing phase over several years followed by a rapid-growing malignant phase. We hypothesized that tumor volume growth rate (TVGR) on MRI may act as an earlier measure of clinical benefit during the active surveillance period. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We integrated three-dimensional volumetric measurements with clinical, radiologic, and molecular data in a retrospective cohort of IDH-mt gliomas that were observed after surgical resection in order to understand tumor growth kinetics and the impact of molecular genetics. RESULTS: Using log-linear mixed modeling, the entire cohort (n = 128) had a continuous %TVGR per 6 months of 10.46% [95% confidence interval (CI), 9.11%-11.83%] and a doubling time of 3.5 years (95% CI, 3.10-3.98). High molecular grade IDH-mt gliomas, defined by the presence of homozygous deletion of CDKN2A/B, had %TVGR per 6 months of 19.17% (95% CI, 15.57%-22.89%) which was significantly different from low molecular grade IDH-mt gliomas with a growth rate per 6 months of 9.54% (95% CI, 7.32%-11.80%; P < 0.0001). Using joint modeling to comodel the longitudinal course of TVGR and overall survival, we found each one natural logarithm tumor volume increase resulted in more than a 3-fold increase in risk of death (HR = 3.83; 95% CI, 2.32-6.30; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: TVGR may be used as an earlier measure of clinical benefit and correlates well with the WHO 2021 molecular classification of gliomas and survival. Incorporation of TVGR as a surrogate endpoint into future prospective studies of IDH-mt gliomas may accelerate drug development.

Evaluation of the Minimum Segment Width and Fluence Smoothing Tools for Intensity-modulated Techniques in Monaco Treatment Planning System.

Purpose: This study aims to minimize monitor units (MUs) of intensity-modulated treatments in the Monaco treatment planning system while preserving plan quality by optimizing the "Minimum Segment Width" (MSW) and "Fluence Smoothing" parameters. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 30 prostate, 30 gynecological, 15 breast cancer, 10 head and neck tumor, 11 radiosurgery, and 10 hypo-fractionated plans. Original prostate plans employed "Fluence Smoothing" = Off and were reoptimized with Low, Medium, and High settings. The remaining pathologies initially used MSW = 0.5 cm and were reoptimized with MSW = 1.0 cm. Plan quality, including total MU, delivery time, and dosimetric constraints, was statistically analyzed with a paired t-test. Results: Prostate plans exhibited the highest MU variation when changing "Fluence Smoothing" from Off to High (average ΔMU = -5.1%; P < 0.001). However, a High setting may increase overall MU when MSW = 0.5 cm. Gynecological plans changed substantially when MSW increased from 0.5 cm to 1.0 cm (average ΔMU = -29%; P < 0.001). Organs at risk sparing and planning target volumes remained within 1.2% differences. Replanning other pathologies with MSW = 1.0 cm affected breast and head and neck tumor plans (average ΔMU = -168.38, average Δt = -11.74 s, and average ΔMU = -256.56, average Δt = -15.05 s, respectively; all with P < 0.004). Radiosurgery and hypofractioned highly modulated plans did not yield statistically significant results. Conclusions: In breast, pelvis, head and neck, and prostate plans, starting with MSW = 1.0 cm optimally reduces MU and treatment time without compromising plan quality. MSW has a greater impact on MU than the "Fluence Smoothing" parameter. Plans with high modulation might present divergent behavior, requiring a case-specific analysis with MSW values higher than 0.5 cm.