Radiogenomics and Texture Analysis to Detect von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) Mutation in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Radiogenomics, a burgeoning field in biomedical research, explores the correlation between imaging features and genomic data, aiming to link macroscopic manifestations with molecular characteristics. In this review, we examine existing radiogenomics literature in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), the predominant renal cancer, and von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene mutation, the most frequent genetic mutation in ccRCC. A thorough examination of the literature was conducted through searches on the PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases. Inclusion criteria encompassed articles published in English between 2014 and 2022, resulting in 10 articles meeting the criteria out of 39 initially retrieved articles. Most of these studies applied computed tomography (CT) images obtained from open source and institutional databases. This literature review investigates the role of radiogenomics, with and without texture analysis, in predicting VHL gene mutation in ccRCC patients. Radiogenomics leverages imaging modalities such as CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to analyze macroscopic features and establish connections with molecular elements, providing insights into tumor heterogeneity and biological behavior. The investigations explored diverse mutations, with a specific focus on VHL mutation, and applied CT imaging features for radiogenomic analysis. Moreover, radiomics and machine learning techniques were employed to predict VHL gene mutations based on CT features, demonstrating promising results. Additional studies delved into the relationship between VHL mutation and body composition, revealing significant associations with adipose tissue distribution. The review concludes by highlighting the potential role of radiogenomics in guiding targeted and selective therapies.

Intravoxel incoherent motion and diffusion kurtosis imaging and their machine-learning-based texture analysis for detection and assessment of prostate cancer severity at 3 T.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the role of combined intravoxel incoherent motion and diffusion kurtosis imaging (IVIM-DKI) and their machine-learning-based texture analysis for the detection and assessment of severity in prostate cancer (PCa). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-eight patients underwent MRI on a 3 T scanner after giving informed consent. IVIM-DKI data were acquired using 13 b values (0-2000 s/mm2) and analyzed using the IVIM-DKI model with the total variation (TV) method. PCa patients were categorized into two groups: clinically insignificant prostate cancer (CISPCa) (Gleason grade ≤ 6) and clinically significant prostate cancer (CSPCa) (Gleason grade ≥ 7). One-way analysis-of-variance, t test, and receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to measure the discriminative ability to detect PCa using IVIM-DKI parameters. A chi-square test was used to select important texture features of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and IVIM-DKI parameters. These selected texture features were used in an artificial neural network for PCa detection. RESULTS: ADC and diffusion coefficient (D) were significantly lower (p < 0.001), and kurtosis (k) was significantly higher (p < 0.001), in PCa as compared with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and normal peripheral zone (PZ). ADC, D, and k showed high areas under the curves (AUCs) of 0.92, 0.89, and 0.88, respectively, in PCa detection. ADC and D were significantly lower (p < 0.05) as compared with CISPCa versus CSPCa. D for detecting CSPCa was high, with an AUC of 0.63. A negative correlation of ADC and D with GS (ADC, ρ = -0.33; D, ρ = -0.35, p < 0.05) and a positive correlation of k with GS (ρ = 0.22, p < 0.05) were observed. Combined IVIM-DKI texture showed high AUC of 0.83 for classification of PCa, BPH, and normal PZ. CONCLUSION: D, f, and k computed using the IVIM-DKI model with the TV method were able to differentiate PCa from BPH and normal PZ. Texture features of combined IVIM-DKI parameters showed high accuracy and AUC in PCa detection.

Application of radiomics and machine learning to thyroid diseases in nuclear medicine: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: In the last years growing evidences on the role of radiomics and machine learning (ML) applied to different nuclear medicine imaging modalities for the assessment of thyroid diseases are starting to emerge. The aim of this systematic review was therefore to analyze the diagnostic performances of these technologies in this setting. METHODS: A wide literature search of the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science databases was made in order to find relevant published articles about the role of radiomics or ML on nuclear medicine imaging for the evaluation of different thyroid diseases. RESULTS: Seventeen studies were included in the systematic review. Radiomics and ML were applied for assessment of thyroid incidentalomas at 18 F-FDG PET, evaluation of cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules, assessment of thyroid cancer and classification of thyroid diseases using nuclear medicine techniques. CONCLUSION: Despite some intrinsic limitations of radiomics and ML may have affect the results of this review, these technologies seem to have a promising role in the assessment of thyroid diseases. Validation of preliminary findings in multicentric studies is needed to translate radiomics and ML approaches in the clinical setting.

Effectiveness of CT radiomic features combined with clinical factors in predicting prognosis in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The prognosis of SCLC is poor and difficult to predict. The aim of this study was to explore whether a model based on radiomics and clinical features could predict the prognosis of patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). METHODS: Simulated positioning CT images and clinical features were retrospectively collected from 200 patients with histological diagnosis of LS-SCLC admitted between 2013 and 2021, which were randomly divided into the training (n = 140) and testing (n = 60) groups. Radiomics features were extracted from simulated positioning CT images, and the t-test and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) were used to screen radiomics features. We then constructed radiomic score (RadScore) based on the filtered radiomics features. Clinical factors were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The Cox proportional hazards model was used for further analyses of possible prognostic features and clinical factors to build three models including a radiomic model, a clinical model, and a combined model including clinical factors and RadScore. When a model has prognostic predictive value (AUC > 0.7) in both train and test groups, a nomogram will be created. The performance of three models was evaluated using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and Kaplan-Meier analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1037 features were extracted from simulated positioning CT images which were contrast enhanced CT of the chest. The combined model showed the best prediction, with very poor AUC for the radiomic model and the clinical model. The combined model of OS included 4 clinical features and RadScore, with AUCs of 0.71 and 0.70 in the training and test groups. The combined model of PFS included 4 clinical features and RadScore, with AUCs of 0.72 and 0.71 in the training and test groups. T stages, ProGRP and smoke status were the independent variables for OS in the combined model, whereas T stages, ProGRP and prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) were the independent factors for PFS. There was a statistically significant difference between the low- and high-risk groups in the combined model of OS (training group, p < 0.0001; testing group, p = 0.0269) and PFS (training group, p < 0.0001; testing group, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Combined models involved RadScore and clinical factors can predict prognosis in LS-SCLC and show better performance than individual radiomics and clinical models.

Coefficient of variation and texture analysis of 18F-FDG PET/CT images for the prediction of outcome in patients with multiple myeloma.

In multiple myeloma (MM) bone marrow infiltration by monoclonal plasma cells can occur in both focal and diffuse manner, making staging and prognosis rather difficult. The aim of our study was to test whether texture analysis of 18 F-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) images can predict survival in MM patients. Forty-six patients underwent 18 F-FDG-PET/CT before treatment. We used an automated contouring program for segmenting the hottest focal lesion (FL) and a lumbar vertebra for assessing diffuse bone marrow involvement (DI). Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), mean standardized uptake value (SUVmean) and texture features such as Coefficient of variation (CoV), were obtained from 46 FL and 46 DI. After a mean follow-up of 51 months, 24 patients died of myeloma and were compared to the 22 survivors. At univariate analysis, FL SUVmax (p = 0.0453), FL SUVmean (p = 0.0463), FL CoV (p = 0.0211) and DI SUVmax (p = 0.0538) predicted overall survival (OS). At multivariate analysis only FL CoV and DI SUVmax were retained in the model (p = 0.0154). By Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank testing, patients with FL CoV below the cut-off had significantly better OS than those with FL CoV above the cut-off (p = 0.0003), as well as patients with DI SUVmax below the threshold versus those with DI SUVmax above the threshold (p = 0.0006). Combining FL CoV and DI SUVmax by using their respective cut-off values, a statistically significant difference was found between the resulting four survival curves (p = 0.0001). Indeed, patients with both FL CoV and DI SUVmax below their respective cut-off values showed the best prognosis. Conventional and texture parameters derived from 18F-FDG PET/CT analysis can predict survival in MM patients by assessing the heterogeneity and aggressiveness of both focal and diffuse infiltration.

Penalized deep partially linear cox models with application to CT scans of lung cancer patients.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality globally, highlighting the importance of understanding its mortality risks to design effective patient-centered therapies. The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) employed computed tomography texture analysis, which provides objective measurements of texture patterns on CT scans, to quantify the mortality risks of lung cancer patients. Partially linear Cox models have gained popularity for survival analysis by dissecting the hazard function into parametric and nonparametric components, allowing for the effective incorporation of both well-established risk factors (such as age and clinical variables) and emerging risk factors (eg, image features) within a unified framework. However, when the dimension of parametric components exceeds the sample size, the task of model fitting becomes formidable, while nonparametric modeling grapples with the curse of dimensionality. We propose a novel Penalized Deep Partially Linear Cox Model (Penalized DPLC), which incorporates the smoothly clipped absolute deviation (SCAD) penalty to select important texture features and employs a deep neural network to estimate the nonparametric component of the model. We prove the convergence and asymptotic properties of the estimator and compare it to other methods through extensive simulation studies, evaluating its performance in risk prediction and feature selection. The proposed method is applied to the NLST study dataset to uncover the effects of key clinical and imaging risk factors on patients' survival. Our findings provide valuable insights into the relationship between these factors and survival outcomes.

Fat-suppression T2 relaxation time and water fraction predict response to intravenous glucocorticoid therapy for thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of fat-suppression (FS) T2 relaxation time (T2RT) derived from FS T2 mapping and water fraction (WF) derived from T2 IDEAL to predict the treatment response to intravenous glucocorticoids (IVGC) in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) based on texture analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 89 patients clinically diagnosed with active and moderate-to-severe TAO were enroled (responsive group, 48 patients; unresponsive group, 41 patients). The baseline clinical characteristics and texture features were compared between the two groups. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify the independent predictors of treatment response to IVGC. ROC analysis and the DeLong test were used to assess and compare the predictive performance of different models. RESULTS: The responsive group exhibited significantly shorter disease duration and higher 90th percentile of FS T2RT and kurtosis of WF in the extraocular muscle (EOM) and 95th percentile of WF in the orbital fat (OF) than the unresponsive group. Model 2 (disease duration + WF; AUC, 0.816) and model 3 (disease duration + FS T2RT + WF; AUC, 0.823) demonstrated superior predictive efficacy compared to model 1 (disease duration + FS T2RT; AUC, 0.756), while there was no significant difference between models 2 and 3. CONCLUSIONS: The orbital tissues of responders exhibited more oedema and heterogeneity. Furthermore, OF is as valuable as EOM for assessing the therapeutic efficacy of IVGC. Finally, WF derived from T2 IDEAL processed by texture analysis can provide valuable information for predicting the treatment response to IVGC in patients with active and moderate-to-severe TAO. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: The texture features of FS T2RT and WF are different between responders and non-responders, which can be the predictive tool for treatment response to IVGC. KEY POINTS: Texture analysis can be used for predicting response to IVGC in TAO patients. TAO patients responsive to IVGC show more oedema and heterogeneity in the orbital tissues. WF from T2 IDEAL is a tool to predict the therapeutic response of TAO.

Correlation analysis between texture features and elasticity of skin hyperspectral images in the near-infrared band.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Skin elasticity was used to evaluate healthy and diseased skin. Correlation analysis between image texture characteristics and skin elasticity was performed to study the feasibility of assessing skin elasticity using a non-contact method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Skin images in the near-infrared band were acquired using a hyperspectral camera, and skin elasticity was obtained using a skin elastimeter. Texture features of the mean, standard deviation, entropy, contrast, correlation, homogeneity, and energy were extracted from the acquired skin images, and a correlation analysis with skin elasticity was performed. RESULTS: The texture features, and skin elasticity of skin images in the near-infrared band had the highest correlation on the side of eye and under of arm, and the mean and correlation were features of texture suitable for distinguishing skin elasticity according to the body part. CONCLUSION: In this study, we performed elasticity and correlation analyses for various body parts using the texture characteristics of skin hyperspectral images in the near-infrared band, confirming a significant correlation in some body parts. It is expected that this will be used as a cornerstone of skin elasticity evaluation research using non-contact methods.

The value of whole tumor apparent diffusion coefficient histogram parameters in predicting meningiomas progesterone receptor expression.

This letter provides a critical assessment of a previous study on the utility of whole tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram characteristics in predicting meningioma progesterone receptor expression. While acknowledging the benefits of employing classical diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for non-invasive tumor evaluation, it also emphasizes significant drawbacks. Advanced imaging techniques such as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) were not used in the study, which could have provided a more comprehensive understanding of tumor microstructure and heterogeneity. Furthermore, the inclusion of necrotic and cystic areas in ADC analysis may distort results due to their different diffusion properties. While focusing on first-order ADC histogram characteristics is useful, it ignores the potential insights gained from higher-order features and texture analysis. These limitations indicate that future research should combine improved imaging modalities with thorough analytical methodologies to increase the predictive value of imaging biomarkers for meningioma features and progesterone receptor expression.

Comparative analysis of ultrasonographic fetal lung texture in twin and singleton fetuses.

OBJECTIVES: Increased fetal lung heterogeneity has been associated with term fetal lungs in singleton gestations. The objective of this study was to determine if fetal lung heterogeneity index (HI) differs between twin and singleton fetuses in the late second and third trimesters. METHODS: Prospective cohort study of women with singleton and twin gestations with medically-indicated ultrasound examinations at 24 weeks of gestation onward. Grayscale transverse fetal lung images were obtained at the level of the four-chamber heart. A region of interest was selected in each fetal lung image. Fetal lung HI was determined with MATLAB software using a dithering technique with ultrasound image pixels transformed into a binary map form from which a dynamic range value was determined. HI averages and standard deviations were generated for twin and singleton fetuses from 24 weeks gestation onward. Two sample t-tests were used to compare the mean HI at each gestational week between singleton and twin fetuses. RESULTS: In total, 388 singleton and 478 twin images were analyzed. From 35 through 38 weeks of gestation a statistically significant divergence in mean HI was observed with higher means in singleton compared to twin fetuses. At 24 weeks of gestation there was a significantly higher HI in twin fetuses compared to singletons. No differences in fetal lung HI were observed between 25 and 34 weeks gestational age. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in fetal lung HI were observed when comparing twin and singleton fetuses. Further investigation is required to determine the potential clinical significance of these findings.

Correlation between GLCM-based texture features of the lateral pterygoid muscle and cognitive function in patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: a preliminary report.

PURPOSE: The potential relationship between mastication ability and cognitive function in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) patients is unclear. This report investigated the association between mastication and cognitive function in iNPH patients using the gray level of the co-occurrence matrix on the lateral pterygoid muscle. METHODS: We analyzed data from 96 unoperated iNPH patients who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) between December 2016 and February 2023. Radiomic features were extracted from T2 MRI scans of the lateral pterygoid muscle, and muscle texture parameters were correlated with the iNPH grading scale. Subgroup analysis compared the texture parameters of patients with normal cognitive function with those of patients with cognitive impairment. RESULTS: The mini-mental state examination score correlated positively with the angular second moment (P < 0.05) and negatively with entropy (P < 0.05). The dementia scale (Eide's classification) correlated negatively with gray values (P < 0.05). Gray values were higher in the cognitive impairment group (64.7 ± 16.6) when compared with the non-cognitive impairment group (57.4 ± 13.3) (P = 0.005). Entropy was higher in the cognitive impairment group (8.2 ± 0.3) than in the non-cognitive impairment group (8.0 ± 0.3) (P < 0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.681 (P = 0.003) and 0.701 (P < 0.001) for gray value and entropy, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest an association between heterogeneity of mastication and impaired cognitive function in iNPH patients and highlight muscle texture analysis as a potential tool for predicting cognitive impairment in these patients.

Automatic Texture Alignment by Optimization Method.

Microstructure analysis via electron backscatter diffraction has become an indispensable tool in materials science and engineering. In order to interpret or predict the anisotropy in crystalline materials, the texture is assessed, e.g. via pole figure diagrams. To ensure a correct characterization, it is crucial to align the measured sample axes as closely as possible with the manufacturing process directions. However, deviations are inevitable due to sample preparation and manual measurement setup. Postprocessing is mostly done manually, which is tedious and operator-dependent. In this work, it is shown that the deviation can be calculated using the contour of the crystal orientations. This can also be utilized to define the axis symmetry of pole figure diagrams through an objective function, allowing for symmetric alignment by minimization. Experimental textures of extruded profiles and synthetically generated textures were used to demonstrate the general applicability of the method. It has proven to work excellently for deviations of up to 5∘, which are typical for careful manual sample preparation and mounting. While the performance of the algorithm is reduced with increasing misalignment, good results have also been obtained for deviations up to 15∘.

Bridging Histopathology and Radiomics Toward Prognosis of Metastasis in Early Breast Cancer.

Tumor histomorphology is crucial for the prognostication of breast cancer outcomes because it contains histological, cellular, and molecular tumor heterogeneity related to metastatic potential. To enhance breast cancer prognosis, we aimed to apply radiomics analysis-traditionally used in 3D scans-to 2D histopathology slides. This study tested radiomics analysis in a cohort of 92 breast tumor specimens for outcome prognosis, addressing -omics dimensionality by comparing models with moderate and high feature counts, using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator for feature selection and machine learning for prognostic modeling. In the test folds, models with radiomics features [area under the curves (AUCs) range 0.799-0.823] significantly outperformed the benchmark model, which only included clinicopathological (CP) parameters (AUC = 0.584). The moderate-dimensionality model with 11 CP + 93 radiomics features matched the performance of the highly dimensional models with 1,208 radiomics or 11 CP + 1,208 radiomics features, showing average AUCs of 0.823, 0.799, and 0.807 and accuracies of 79.8, 79.3, and 76.6%, respectively. In conclusion, our application of deep texture radiomics analysis to 2D histopathology showed strong prognostic performance with a moderate-dimensionality model, surpassing a benchmark based on standard CP parameters, indicating that this deep texture histomics approach could potentially become a valuable prognostic tool.

Smooth muscle tumours of the uterus: MR imaging malignant predictive features-a 12-year analysis in a referral hospital in Portugal.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features that may help distinguish leiomyosarcomas from atypical leiomyomas (those presenting hyperintensity on T2-W images equal or superior to 50% compared to the myometrium). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors conducted a retrospective single-centre study that included a total of 57 women diagnosed with smooth muscle tumour of the uterus, who were evaluated with pelvic MRI, between January 2009 and March 2020. All cases had a histologically proven diagnosis (31 Atypical Leiomyomas-ALM; 26 Leiomyosarcomas-LMS). The MRI features evaluated in this study included: age at presentation, dimension, contours, intra-tumoral haemorrhagic areas, T2-WI heterogeneity, T2-WI dark areas, flow voids, cyst areas, necrosis, restriction on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values, signal intensity and heterogeneity after contrast administration in T1-WI, presence and location of unenhanced areas. The association between the MRI characteristics and the histological subtype was evaluated using Chi-Square and ANOVA tests. RESULTS: The MRI parameters that showed a statistically significance correlation with malignant histology and thus most strongly associated with LMS were found to be: irregular contours (p < 0.001), intra-tumoral haemorrhagic areas (p = 0.028), T2-WI dark areas (p = 0.016), high signal intensity after contrast administration (p = 0.005), necrosis (p = 0.001), central location for unenhanced areas (p = 0.026), and ADC value lower than 0.88 × 10-3 mm2/s (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: With our work, we demonstrate the presence of seven MRI features that are statistically significant in differentiating between LMS and ALM.

High-Precision Visual Servoing for the Neutron Diffractometer STRESS-SPEC at MLZ.

With neutron diffraction, the local stress and texture of metallic components can be analyzed non-destructively. For both, highly accurate positioning of the sample is essential, requiring the measurement at the same sample location from different directions. Current sample-positioning systems in neutron diffraction instruments combine XYZ tables and Eulerian cradles to enable the accurate six-degree-of-freedom (6DoF) handling of samples. However, these systems are not flexible enough. The choice of the rotation center and their range of motion are limited. Industrial six-axis robots have the necessary flexibility, but they lack the required absolute accuracy. This paper proposes a visual servoing system consisting of an industrial six-axis robot enhanced with a high-precision multi-camera tracking system. Its goal is to achieve an absolute positioning accuracy of better than 50µm. A digital twin integrates various data sources from the instrument and the sample in order to enable a fully automatic measurement procedure. This system is also highly relevant for other kinds of processes that require the accurate and flexible handling of objects and tools, e.g., robotic surgery or industrial printing on 3D surfaces.

Delta radiomics: an updated systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Radiomics can provide quantitative features from medical imaging that can be correlated with various biological features and diverse clinical endpoints. Delta radiomics, on the other hand, consists in the analysis of feature variation at different acquisition time points, usually before and after therapy. The aim of this study was to provide a systematic review of the different delta radiomics approaches. METHODS: Eligible articles were searched in Embase, Pubmed, and ScienceDirect using a search string that included free text and/or Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) with 3 key search terms: 'radiomics,' 'texture,' and 'delta.' Studies were analyzed using QUADAS-2 and the RQS tool. RESULTS: Forty-eight studies were finally included. The studies were divided into preclinical/methodological (5 studies, 10.4%); rectal cancer (6 studies, 12.5%); lung cancer (12 studies, 25%); sarcoma (5 studies, 10.4%); prostate cancer (3 studies, 6.3%), head and neck cancer (6 studies, 12.5%); gastrointestinal malignancies excluding rectum (7 studies, 14.6%) and other disease sites (4 studies, 8.3%). The median RQS of all studies was 25% (mean 21% ± 12%), with 13 studies (30.2%) achieving a quality score < 10% and 22 studies (51.2%) < 25%. CONCLUSIONS: Delta radiomics shows potential benefit for several clinical endpoints in oncology, such asdifferential diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of treatment response, evaluation of side effects. Nevertheless, the studies included in this systematic review suffer from the bias of overall low methodological rigor, so that the conclusions are currently heterogeneous, not robust and hardly replicable. Further research with prospective and multicenter studies is needed for the clinical validation of delta radiomics approaches.

CT and MRI of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: New Trends and Perspectives.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are defined as mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract that express positivity for CD117, which is a c-KIT proto-oncogene antigen. Expression of the c-KIT protein, a tyrosine kinase growth factor receptor, allows the distinction between GISTs and other mesenchymal tumors such as leiomyoma, leiomyosarcoma, schwannoma and neurofibroma. GISTs can develop anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract, as well as in the mesentery and omentum. Over the years, the management of GISTs has improved due to a better knowledge of their behaviors and risk or recurrence, the identification of specific mutations and the use of targeted therapies. This has resulted in a better prognosis for patients with GISTs. In parallel, imaging of GISTs has been revolutionized by tremendous progress in the field of detection, characterization, survival prediction and monitoring during therapy. Recently, a particular attention has been given to radiomics for the characterization of GISTs using analysis of quantitative imaging features. In addition, radiomics has currently many applications that are developed in conjunction with artificial intelligence with the aim of better characterizing GISTs and providing a more precise assessment of tumor burden. This article sums up recent advances in computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of GISTs in the field of image/data acquisition, tumor detection, tumor characterization, treatment response evaluation, and preoperative planning.

Characterization of Prototype Gummy Formulations Provides Insight into Setting Quality Standards.

Gummy formulations are considered suitable alternatives to traditional oral dosage forms like tablets and capsules due to their merits that include chewability, softness/flexibility, improved drug release, administration without water, appealing organoleptic properties, better patient compliance, easy preparation and usefulness for persons of different ages (e.g. children). Though there is increasing interest in gummy formulations containing drugs, measurable parameters, and specification limits for evaluating their quality are scarce. Quality check forms an essential part of the pharmaceutical development process because drug products must be distributed as consistently stable, safe, and therapeutically effective entities. Consequently, some quality parameters that could contribute to the overall performance of typical gummy formulations were investigated employing six brands of non-medicinal gummies as specimens. Accordingly, key physicochemical and micromechanical characteristics namely adhesiveness (0.009 - 0.028 mJ), adhesive force (0.009 - 0.055 N), chewiness (2.780 - 6.753 N), cohesiveness (0.910 - 0.990), hardness (2.984 - 7.453 N), springiness (0.960 - 1.000), and resilience (0.388 - 0.572), matrix firmness - compression load (2.653 - 6.753 N) and work done (3.288 - 6.829 mJ), rupture (5.315 - 29.016 N), moisture content (< 5%), weight uniformity (< 2.5 g; < 7.5% deviation), and intraoral dissolution pH (≥ 3.5 ≤ 6.8) were quantified to identify measures that may potentially function as specification limits and serve as prospective reference points for evaluating the quality of gummy formulations. Findings from this work contribute to ongoing efforts to standardize the quality control strategies for gummy formulations, particularly those intended for oral drug delivery.

Differential diagnosis of cemento-osseous dysplasia and periapical cyst using texture analysis of CBCT.

BACKGROUND: Radiolucencies found at the root apex in patients with cemento-osseous dysplasia (COD) may be mistaken for periapical cysts (PC) of endodontic origin. The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of quantitative texture analysis using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) to differentiate between COD and PC. METHODS: Patients who underwent CBCT at Wonkwang University Daejeon Dental Hospital between January 2019 and December 2022 and were diagnosed with COD and PC by clinical, radiologic, and, if necessary, histopathologic examination were included. Twenty-five patients each were retrospectively enrolled in the COD and PC group. All lesions observed on axial CBCT images were manually segmented using the open-access software MaZda version 4.6 to establish the regions of interest, which were then subjected to texture analysis. Among the 279 texture features obtained, 10 texture features with the highest Fisher coefficients were selected. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U-test, Welch's t-test, or Student's t-test. Texture features that showed significant differences were subjected to receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis to evaluate the differential diagnostic ability of COD and PC. RESULTS: The COD group consisted of 22 men and 3 women, while the PC group consisted of 14 men and 11 women, showing a significant difference between the two groups in terms of sex (p=0.003). The 10 selected texture features belonged to the gray level co-occurrence matrix and included the sum of average, sum of entropy, entropy, and difference of entropy. All 10 selected texture features showed statistically significant differences (p<0.05) when comparing patients with COD (n=25) versus those with PC (n=25), osteolytic-stage COD (n=11) versus PC (n=25), and osteolytic-stage COD (n=11) versus cementoblastic-stage COD (n=14). ROC curve analysis to determine the ability to differentiate between COD and PC showed a high area under the curve ranging from 0.96 to 0.98. CONCLUSION: Texture analysis of CBCT images has shown good diagnostic value in the differential diagnosis of COD and PC, which can help prevent unnecessary endodontic treatment, invasive biopsy, or surgical intervention associated with increased risk of infection.

Production and evaluation of novel functional cream cottage cheese fortified with bovine colostrum and probiotic bacteria.

Nutrient-dense colostrum can be employed as a functional food ingredient. This work aimed to produce novel functional probiotic Cream cottage cheese (FPC) using probiotic (ABT) culture and bovine colostrum powder (BCP) at levels of 1, 2, and 3%. Physicochemical and functional properties (antioxidant activity, fatty acid profile, and antibacterial activity) were analyzed. The outcome revealed that hardness, cohesiveness, and gumminess were increased while springiness and chewiness were decreased for the treated cheeses. In FPC, medium-chain fatty acids were the predominant forms, followed by short- and long-chain fatty acids, polyunsaturated (PUFA), and small amounts of monounsaturated (MUFA). The antioxidant activity of all the cheese samples was significantly (P < 0.05) increased by increasing the quantity of colostrum powder and lengthening storage time. Color parameters were influenced by enrichment with BCP, whether in fresh or stored samples. With the addition of BCP, the growth of lactic acid bacteria and Bifidobacteria was enhanced, whereas that of pathogenic bacteria, mold and yeast, and coliform groups was inhibited. Cheeses fortified with 2% BCP had significantly higher score values than those in the other treatments. Therefore, it could be concluded that cottage cheese fortified with 2% BCP has high nutritional value and health benefits. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05910-0.