Feasibility of AI-assisted compressed sensing protocols in knee MR imaging: a prospective multi-reader study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the image quality and diagnostic performance of AI-assisted compressed sensing (ACS) accelerated two-dimensional fast spin-echo MRI compared with standard parallel imaging (PI) in clinical 3.0T rapid knee scans. METHODS: This prospective study enrolled 130 consecutive participants between March and September 2022. The MRI scan procedure included one 8.0-min PI protocol and two ACS protocols (3.5 min and 2.0 min). Quantitative image quality assessments were performed by evaluating edge rise distance (ERD) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Shapiro-Wilk tests were performed and investigated by the Friedman test and post hoc analyses. Three radiologists independently evaluated structural disorders for each participant. Fleiss κ analysis was used to compare inter-reader and inter-protocol agreements. The diagnostic performance of each protocol was investigated and compared by DeLong's test. The threshold for statistical significance was set at p  < 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 150 knee MRI examinations constituted the study cohort. For the quantitative assessment of four conventional sequences with ACS protocols, SNR improved significantly (p < 0.001), and ERD was significantly reduced or equivalent to the PI protocol. For the abnormality evaluated, the intraclass correlation coefficient ranged from moderate to substantial between readers (κ = 0.75-0.98) and between protocols (κ = 0.73-0.98). For meniscal tears, cruciate ligament tears, and cartilage defects, the diagnostic performance of ACS protocols was considered equivalent to PI protocol (Delong test, p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the conventional PI acquisition, the novel ACS protocol demonstrated superior image quality and was feasible for achieving equivalent detection of structural abnormalities while reducing acquisition time by half. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Artificial intelligence-assisted compressed sensing (ACS) providing excellent quality and a 75% reduction in scanning time presents significant clinical advantages in improving the efficiency and accessibility of knee MRI for more patients. KEY POINTS: • The prospective multi-reader study showed no difference in diagnostic performance between parallel imaging and AI-assisted compression sensing (ACS) was found. • Reduced scan time, sharper delineation, and less noise with ACS reconstruction. • Improved efficiency of the clinical knee MRI examination by the ACS acceleration.

AHSG, a Gene Promoting Tumour Proliferation, Migration and Invasion, is an Independent Prognostic Factor for Poor Overall Survival in Lung Adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have shown that the metabolic process-related gene AHSG is involved in multiple pathological processes of tumours. This study will explore the relationship between AHSG and lung adenocarcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Expression analysis, survival analysis and co-expression analysis of AHSG were performed using a public database, and cytological and molecular biology assays were performed to explore the role of AHSG in lung adenocarcinoma. RESULT: Compared with normal tissues, AHSG expression was significantly higher in cancer tissues in the TCGA-LUAD database, and pan-cancer analysis revealed abnormal AHSG expression in different kinds of tumours. Survival analysis revealed that compared with the low expression group, the patients in the high expression group had a significantly worse overall survival duration in the TCGA-LUAD database, and a subsequent study confirmed that AHSG expression could be an independent prognostic factor of overall survival in lung adenocarcinoma. AHSG-related genes are involved in multiple physiological and pathophysiological pathways. In subsequent cytological and molecular biology experiments, inhibition of AHSG expression suppressed proliferation, migration and invasion in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines, and the EMT process was blocked after knockdown of AHSG. CONCLUSION: AHSG could be used as a prognostic factor for OS in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. It can promote the biological behaviour of lung adenocarcinoma and may become a potential target for treatment, which is worthy of further study.

Validation of the vault prediction model based on the sulcus-to-sulcus diameter and lens thickness: a 925-eye prospective study.

BACKGROUND: To verify the accuracy and stability of the prediction formula based on the ciliary sulcus diameter and lens thickness and to analyse factors influencing the prediction results. METHODS: In total, 925 eyes from 506 subjects were enrolled in this prospective study between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. Subjects were divided into four seasons, each spanning three months. The target vault was set to be between 300 µm and 700 µm according the prediction formula. The actual vault was measured one month postoperatively. The Bland-Altman test, 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) and 95% limits of agreement (95% LoA) were used to evaluate the agreement between the predicted vault and the actual vault. Eyes with absolute prediction errors greater than 300 µm were further analysed. RESULTS: The mean predicted vaults for the four seasons were 503 ± 99, 494 ± 96, 481 ± 92 and 502 ± 93 µm, while the mean actual vaults were 531 ± 189, 491 ± 179, 464 ± 179 and 529 ± 162 µm, respectively. The predicted and actual vaults of the overall subjects were 493 ± 95 and 500 ± 180 µm, respectively. Of the 925 eyes, 861 eyes (93.08%), 42 eyes (4.54%), and 22 eyes (2.38%) showed a normal vault, high vault, and low vault, respectively. Bland-Altman plots showed that the mean difference between the actual vault and predicted vault overall (± 95% LoA) was 6.43 ± 176.2 µm (-339 to 352 µm). Three UBM features may lead to large prediction errors (more than 300 µm): wide iris-ciliary angle (ICA), iris concavity and anteriorly positioned ciliary body. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the accuracy and stability of the prediction formula through the validation of a large sample size and a long time span. Wide ICA, iris concavity and anteriorly positioned ciliary body may have an effect on vault.

Preliminary study of monoexponential, biexponential, and stretched-exponential models of diffusion-weighted MRI and diffusion kurtosis imaging on differential diagnosis of spinal metastases and chordoma.

PURPOSE: Quantitative comparison of diffusion parameters from various models of diffusion-weighted (DWI) and diffusion kurtosis (DKI) imaging for distinguishing spinal metastases and chordomas. METHODS: DWI and DKI examinations were performed in 31 and 13 cases of spinal metastases and chordomas, respectively. DWI derived apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), true diffusion coefficient (D), pseudo diffusion coefficient (D*), perfusion fraction (f), water molecular distributed diffusion coefficient (DDC), and intravoxel water diffusion heterogeneity (α). DKI derived mean diffusivity (MD) and mean kurtosis (MK). Independent sample t-testing compared statistical differences among parameters. Sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were determined. Pearson correlation analysis evaluated the parameters' correlations. RESULTS: ADC, D, f, DDC, α, and MD were significantly lower in spinal metastases than chordomas (all P < 0.05). MK was significantly higher in spinal metastases than chordomas (P < 0.05). D had the highest area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.886, greater than MD (AUC = 0.706) or DDC (AUC = 0.742) in differentiating the two tumors (both P < 0.05). Combining D with f and α statistically significantly increased the AUC for diagnosis (to 0.995) relative to D alone (P < 0.05). There was a certain correlation among DDC, ADC, and D (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Monoexponential, biexponential, and stretched-exponential models of DWI and DKI can potentially differentiate spinal metastases and chordomas. D combined with f and α performed best.

Solitary fibrous tumour of the spine: imaging features of a commonly misdiagnosed entity.

OBJECTIVE: Solitary fibrous tumours (SFTs) occurring in the spine are rare. Herein, we review the clinical and imaging data of spinal SFT. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed eight cases of pathologically confirmed spinal SFT imaging and clinical data, pathological manifestations, surgical methods, and follow-up results. RESULTS: Five SFTs cases occurred in the cervical spine, two in the thoracic spine, and one in the lumbosacral spine. Five cases showed a dumbbell-shaped or lobulated soft tissue mass that grew across the intervertebral foramen, two cases showed an expansive intraosseous mass formation in the vertebral body and/or posterior element, and one case showed a long-spindle shaped intraspinal canal mass growing along the spinal canal. Seven caused local invasion and destruction of the vertebral body and posterior element. Benign SFTs displayed a good prognosis, whereas malignant SFTs were prone to recurrence and metastasis (3/4). CONCLUSION: Spinal SFTs are difficult to characterise with imaging and required pathological and immunohistochemical investigation. Prolonged follow-up is recommended once a diagnosis of spinal SFTs has been established because of the unclear biology. KEY POINTS: • Spinal solitary fibrous tumours are extremely rare. • SFTs should be showed the differential of masses developing though the foramen. • Combing imaging with pathology and immunochemistry assesses the diagnosis and establish nature.

Morphological and dynamic contrast enhanced MR imaging features for the differentiation of chordoma and giant cell tumors in the Axial Skeleton.

PURPOSE: To characterize the morphological and dynamic-contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI features of chordoma and giant cell tumor (GCT) of bone occurring in the axial skeleton. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 13 patients with chordoma and 26 patients with GCT who received conventional T1, T2, and DCE-MRI on 3 Tesla MR scanners were retrospectively identified and analyzed. Two radiologists evaluated morphological features independently, including the lesion location, expansile bone changes, vertebral compression, presence of paraspinal soft tissue mass, fibrous septa, and the signal intensity on T1WI and T2WI. The inter-observer agreement was evaluated by kappa test. The DCE kinetics was measured to obtain the initial area under curve (IAUC) and the wash-out slope; also the two-compartmental pharmacokinetic model was applied to obtain Ktrans and kep . The diagnostic accuracy was evaluated by CHAID decision tree and ROC analysis. RESULTS: Chordomas were more likely to show soft tissue mass than GCTs (13/13 = 100% versus 15/26 = 58%; P = 0.007), as well as fibrous septa (9/13 = 69% versus 0; P < 0.001). In decision tree analysis, presence of fibrous septa and lesion location yield 31/39 = 79% accuracy. The DCE-MRI pharmacokinetic parameters Ktrans and kep of GCTs were significantly higher than those of chordomas, 0.13 ± 0.65 versus 0.06 ± 0.04 (1/min) for Ktrans , 0.62 ± 0.22 versus 0.17 ± 0.12 (1/min) for kep , P < 0.001 for both. If using kep = 0.43/min as the cut-off value, it achieved 100% sensitivity and 92% specificity to differentiate chordoma from GCT, with an overall accuracy of 37/39 = 95%. The IAUC was highly correlated with Ktrans (r = 0.94), and the slope was highly correlated with kep (r = 0.95). CONCLUSION: Several morphological features were significantly different between chordoma and GCT, but their diagnostic performance was inferior to that of DCE-MRI. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2017;45:1068-1075.

Contrast-enhanced MR angiography: does a higher relaxivity MR contrast agent permit a reduction of the dose administered for routine vascular imaging applications?

PURPOSE: The authors prospectively compared single dose (0.1 mmol/kg bodyweight) gadobenate dimeglumine with double dose (0.2 mmol/kg bodyweight) gadopentetate dimeglumine for contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) in patients with suspected or known steno-occlusive disease of the carotid, renal or peripheral vasculature using an intra-individual crossover study design. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with suspected or known steno-occlusive disease of the carotid (n = 16), renal (n = 5) or peripheral arteries (n = 7) were randomised to receive either 0.1 mmol/kg gadobenate dimeglumine or 0.2 mmol/kg gadopentetate dimeglumine for a first CE-MRA procedure. After 3-5 days all patients underwent a second identical CE-MRA procedure with the other contrast agent. Three blinded readers assessed images for vessel anatomical delineation, disease detection/exclusion, and global preference. Diagnostic performance for detection of ≥51 % stenosis was determined for 20/28 patients who also underwent digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Non-inferiority was assessed using the Wilcoxon signed rank, McNemar and Wald tests. Quantitative (signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratio) enhancement based on 3D maximum intensity projection reconstructions was compared. RESULTS: No differences were noted for any qualitative parameter. Equivalence was reported for all diagnostic preference end-points. Superiority for gadobenate dimeglumine was reported by all readers for sensitivity for disease detection (80.8-86.5 vs. 75.0-82.7 %). Quantitative enhancement was similar for single dose gadobenate dimeglumine and double dose gadopentetate dimeglumine. CONCLUSIONS: Under identical examination conditions a single 0.1 mmol/kg body weight dose of gadobenate dimeglumine can fully replace a double 0.2 mmol/kg body weight dose of gadopentetate dimeglumine for routine CE-MRA procedures.

Functionality enhancement of industrialized optical fiber sensors and system developed for full-scale pavement monitoring.

Pavements always play a predominant role in transportation. Health monitoring of pavements is becoming more and more significant, as frequently suffering from cracks, rutting, and slippage renders them prematurely out of service. Effective and reliable sensing elements are thus in high demand to make prognosis on the mechanical properties and occurrence of damage to pavements. Therefore, in this paper, various types of functionality enhancement of industrialized optical fiber sensors for pavement monitoring are developed, with the corresponding operational principles clarified in theory and the performance double checked by basic experiments. Furthermore, a self-healing optical fiber sensing network system is adopted to accomplish full-scale monitoring of pavements. The application of optical fiber sensors assembly and self-healing network system in pavement has been carried out to validate the feasibility. It has been proved that the research in this article provides a valuable method and meaningful guidance for the integrity monitoring of civil structures, especially pavements.

[Etiology, Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis of Secondary Hemophagocytic Syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the etiology, clinical characteristics and prognosis of secondary hemophagocytic syndrome (HLH), so as to improve the understanding of HLH and reduce the rates of misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis of HLH. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the cause, clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, therapy and outcomes of 75 adult patients with secondary HLH admitted to our hospital from January 2015 to December 2021. Follow-up continued until the last discharge time. RESULTS: Among 75 patients, infection-related HLH was the most common (45.33%), followed by lymphoma-related HLH (17.33%). Fever was the most common clinical manifestation (97.67%). Laboratory indicators such as NK cell activity (98.31% low or absent), sCD25 (93.22% increased), and serum ferritin (94.44% elevated) had higher sensitivity in diagnosis. By comparing the clinical manifestations and laboratory indicators of HLH patients with different causes, sex, lymph node enlargement and bone marrow morphology were more valuable for the diagnosis of primary disease (all P <0.05). By comparing the treatment and clinical outcomes of HLH patients with different causes, the highest clinical remission rate (83.3%) was achieved in patients with autoimmune disease-related HLH treated with hormone+cyclosporine (P <0.05). The overall 12-month survival rate of all patients was 26.7%, in which the infection-related HLH was the lowest (14.7%) while autoimmune disease-related HLH was the highest (63.6%). CONCLUSION: The causes and clinical characteristics of adult secondary HLH are varied, with poor prognosis and heterogeneity in disease severity. It is important to identify HLH cause early for diagnosis and needed to further understand HLH.

A comparison of 2D and 3D magnetic resonance imaging-based intratumoral and peritumoral radiomics models for the prognostic prediction of endometrial cancer: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Accurate prognostic assessment is vital for the personalized treatment of endometrial cancer (EC). Although radiomics models have demonstrated prognostic potential in EC, the impact of region of interest (ROI) delineation strategies and the clinical significance of peritumoral features remain uncertain. Our study thereby aimed to explore the predictive performance of varying radiomics models for the prediction of LVSI, DMI, and disease stage in EC. METHODS: Patients with 174 histopathology-confirmed EC were retrospectively reviewed. ROIs were manually delineated using the 2D and 3D approach on T2-weighted MRI images. Six radiomics models involving intratumoral (2Dintra and 3Dintra), peritumoral (2Dperi and 3Dperi), and combined models (2Dintra + peri and 3Dintra + peri) were developed. Models were constructed using the logistic regression method with five-fold cross-validation. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was assessed, and was compared using the Delong's test. RESULTS: No significant differences in AUC were observed between the 2Dintra and 3Dintra models, or the 2Dperi and 3Dperi models in all prediction tasks (P > 0.05). Significant difference was observed between the 3Dintra and 3Dperi models for LVSI (0.738 vs. 0.805) and DMI prediction (0.719 vs. 0.804). The 3Dintra + peri models demonstrated significantly better predictive performance in all 3 prediction tasks compared to the 3Dintra model in both the training and validation cohorts (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Comparable predictive performance was observed between the 2D and 3D models. Combined models significantly improved predictive performance, especially with 3D delineation, suggesting that intra- and peritumoral features can provide complementary information for comprehensive prognostication of EC.

Automated Segmentation and Classification of Knee Synovitis Based on MRI Using Deep Learning.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a deep learning (DL) model for segmentation of the suprapatellar capsule (SC) and infrapatellar fat pad (IPFP) based on sagittal proton density-weighted images and to distinguish between three common types of knee synovitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 376 consecutive patients with pathologically confirmed knee synovitis (rheumatoid arthritis, gouty arthritis, and pigmented villonodular synovitis) from two institutions. A semantic segmentation model was trained on manually annotated sagittal proton density-weighted images. The segmentation results of the regions of interest and patients' sex and age were used to classify knee synovitis after feature processing. Classification by the DL method was compared to the classification performed by radiologists. RESULTS: Data of the 376 patients (mean age, 42 ± 15 years; 216 men) were separated into a training set (n = 233), an internal test set (n = 93), and an external test set (n = 50). The automated segmentation model showed good performance (mean accuracy: 0.99 and 0.99 in the internal and external test sets). On the internal test set, the DL model performed better than the senior radiologist (accuracy: 0.86 vs. 0.79; area under the curve [AUC]: 0.83 vs. 0.79). On the external test set, the DL diagnostic model based on automatic segmentation performed as well or better than senior and junior radiologists (accuracy: 0.79 vs. 0.79 vs. 0.73; AUC: 0.76 vs. 0.77 vs. 0.70). CONCLUSION: DL models for segmentation of SC and IPFD can accurately classify knee synovitis and aid radiologic diagnosis.

[Comparison of effects of secondary in-the-bag and sulcus intraocular lens implantation in pediatric aphakia after congenital cataract operation].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the results of secondary in-the-bag intraocular lens (IOL) implantation with secondary sulcus IOL implantation in the eyes which received cataract extraction during early infancy. METHODS: A case control study. We selected 60 eyes of 44 patients with pediatric aphakia that meet the inclusion criterion in Affiliated Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical College from September 2005 to August, 2011. Thirty eyes received in-the-bag secondary IOL implantation and were compared with 30 eyes that received secondary sulcus IOL implantation. Data were collected for the ages at cataract extraction and at secondary IOL implantation, the preoperative axial length, the length of follow-up, postoperative complications, postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and refraction. When sufficient capsular opening was possible or capsular support deemed adequate, an IOL was placed within the capsular bag, otherwise the IOL was implanted in the sulcus. The χ(2) test or Fisher exact test was used to compare complications between the in-the-bag and sulcus groups. The independent-samples t test or Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare demographic, preoperative and postoperative refractive relevant data between the in-the-bag and sulcus groups. RESULTS: The median of 1-week-postoperative spherical equivalent clustered 1.00 D (range, -2.13 to 3.38 D) for in-the-bag group and 0.69 D (range, -2.25 to 2.38 D) for the sulcus group (Z = -1.01, P = 0.31). The median of 1-year-postoperative spherical equivalent clustered 0.00 D (range, -3.50 to 3.00 D) for in-the-bag and -0.50 D (range, -3.25 to 2.50 D) for the sulcus (Z = -0.53, P = 0.60). The last follow-up BCVA was available in 23 of 30 eyes in the in-the-bag group and 22 of 30 eyes in the sulcus group. The median of visual outcome clustered around 0.20 D (range, 0.05 to 0.70 D) for in-the-bag and 0.20 D (range, 0.05 to 0.60 D) for the sulcus (Z = -1.06, P = 0.29). The rate of nystagmus was significantly greater in the sulcus group (63.3%) than in the in-the-bag group (33.3%) (χ(2) = 5.41, P = 0.02). The incidence of strabismus, glaucoma and corneal calcific band keratopathy in the in-the-bag group were 36.7% (11/30), 3.0% (1/30) and 10.0% (3/30); 23.3% (7/30), 3.0% (1/30) and 13.3% (4/30) in the sulcus group, respectively. There were no significant differences between the two groups (Strabismus: χ(2) = 1.27, P = 0.26; Glaucoma: χ(2) = 0.16, P = 0.69; corneal calcific band keratopathy: P = 1.00). CONCLUSIONS: For children who have been aphakic due to receiving cataract extraction during their early infancy, there was no significant difference in both postoperative complications and visual acuity between the secondary in-the-bag IOL implantation and secondary sulcus IOL implantation during 1 year to 6 years follow-up time after the implantation surgery.

miR-6742-5p regulates the invasion and migration of lung adenocarcinoma cells via mediating FGF8/ERK12/MMP9/MMP2 signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the progression of Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), however, the functions of miR-6742-5p in LUAD remains unknown, thereby this study was carried on. METHODS: The mRNA and miRNA expression data from the LUAD and normal control were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, TargetScan and mirDIP were applied to predict the relationship between miR-6742-5p and FGF8.Q-PCR, western blot, dual-luciferase, wound Healing and transwell assays were performed to test the functions of miR-6742-5p in LUAD. RESULTS: Bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase identified FGF8 is the target-gene of miR-6742-5p, which is declined in LUAD of human tissues and cell lines, and miR-6742-5P OE suppressed the progression of LUAD in nude mice. MiR-6742-5p OE and KD suppressed or increased the abilities of LUAD' metastasis tested by wound healing and transwell assays H522 and PC-9 cells, these effects about miR-6742-5p OE were reversed by FGF8; miR-6742-5p OE, KD inhibited and increased the expression of FGF8 as its downstream p-ERK1/2, MMP-2/-9, these results were corrected by ERK1/2 inhibitor: Ro 67-7476; the miR-6742-5p KD increased the migrated and invaded cells and suppressed by MMPs inhibitor: S3304. These results identified the negative correlation of miR-6742-5p with FGF8-ERK1/2 signal pathway in LUAD progression. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that miR-6742-5p might be a regulator of LUAD progression by targeting FGF8/ERK1/2/MMPs signaling pathway, which provides a novel therapeutic target for LUAD.

ABCA3, a tumor suppressor gene, inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma by regulating the epithelial­mesenchymal transition process.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is one of the most common types of lung cancer, which affects the life and health of patients. The role of ATP-binding cassette subfamily A member 3 (ABCA3) in the occurrence and development of LUAD is unclear; therefore, ABCA3 expression in LUAD and other tumors was analyzed in the present study. In addition, ABCA3 expression in patients with LUAD and their survival were analyzed using a public database. ABCA3 co-expressed genes were identified and their enriched pathways were analyzed. Furthermore, ABCA3 expression was knocked down in LUAD cell lines. The proliferation, invasion and migration of cells, and the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), were studied through cytological and molecular biology experiments. Compared with that in normal lung tissues, ABCA3 expression was significantly reduced in tumor tissues. Patients with low ABCA3 expression had a markedly worse overall survival compared with those with high ABCA3 expression. Notably, abnormal ABCA3 expression has been observed in a variety of tumors. Subsequently, multiple pathophysiological pathways enriched by ABCA3 and its co-expressed genes were explored. Furthermore, the malignant behavior of tumor cells was enhanced when ABCA3 expression was knocked down, and the EMT process was activated after ABCA3 expression was knocked down. In conclusion, as a tumor suppressor gene, ABCA3 serves a protective role in the development of tumors, and may have a potential role in clinical applications, and thus, is worthy of further study.

Decomposing the Spatial and Temporal Effects of Climate and Habitat on a Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia) Population in Northeastern Chinese Mountains.

Habitat, climate, and human disturbances have important effects on wildlife, and these are especially critical for threatened species. In this study, we used infrared camera traps to monitor the population dynamics of the hazel grouse (Tetrastes bonasia) from 2012 to 2021 in northeast China and explore the effects of habitat, climate, and human disturbance on their distribution. We analyzed 16 environmental variables related to significant differences between presence recordings and absence recordings within and between seasons. Temperatures and roads influenced the distribution of the hazel grouse, but topography and vegetation types did not. The hazel grouse preferred deciduous forest and oak forest from spring to autumn. This study provides ecological information to help guide the mountain habitat management of the hazel grouse in national parks.

Comparative phylogeography of two widespread magpies: importance of habitat preference and breeding behavior on genetic structure in China.

Historical geological events and climatic changes are believed to have played important roles in shaping the current distribution of species. However, sympatric species may have responded in different ways to such climatic fluctuations. Here we compared genetic structures of two corvid species, the Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica cyanus and the Eurasian Magpie Pica pica, both widespread but with different habitat dependence and some aspects of breeding behavior. Three mitochondrial genes and two nuclear introns were used to examine their co-distributed populations in East China and the Iberian Peninsula. Both species showed deep divergences between these two regions that were dated to the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene. In the East Chinese clade of C. cyanus, populations were subdivided between Northeast China and Central China, probably since the early to mid-Pleistocene, and the Central subclade showed a significant pattern of isolation by distance. In contrast, no genetic structure was found in the East China populations of P. pica. We suggest that the different patterns in the two species are at least partly explained by ecological differences between them, especially in habitat preference and perhaps also breeding behavior. These dissimilarities in life history traits might have affected the dispersal and survival abilities of these two species differently during environmental fluctuations.

Primary leiomyosarcoma of the spine: an analysis of imaging manifestations and clinicopathological findings.

BACKGROUND: Primary leiomyosarcoma of the spine is extremely rare and lacks specific clinical symptoms. This study investigated the imaging manifestations and clinicopathological findings of primary leiomyosarcoma of the spine, aiming to improve the radiologists' understanding of the disease and reduce misdiagnoses. METHODS: The clinical, imaging, and pathological manifestations in eleven patients with pathologically confirmed primary leiomyosarcoma of the spine were retrospectively analyzed. The imaging features analyzed included lesion location, shape, border, size, and density/intensity, and adjacent bone destruction status, residual bone trabeculae, vertebral compression, and contrast enhancement. RESULTS: The patients' primary clinical symptom was usually focal pain. Primary leiomyosarcoma of the spine was mostly a solitary lesion and tended to occur in the posterior elements. The tumors had a lobulated shape with osteolytic bone destruction, ill-defined borders, and could involve multiple segments. Computed tomography (CT) examination showed isodense masses. Six patients showed residual bone trabeculae. Two patients had miscellany T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) signals, while the tumor and spinal cord of the remaining patients were isointense on T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) and T2WI. Among the seven patients who underwent contrast-enhanced scanning, six displayed homogeneous enhancement. Eight patients underwent gross-total tumor resection with no recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Primary leiomyosarcoma of the spine tends to be a solitary lesion in the posterior elements and appears as a lobulated mass with osteolytic bone destruction and an ill-defined border. The tumor and spinal cord can be isointense on T1WI and T2WI. Contrast-enhanced scanning displays homogeneous enhancement. The lesion tends not to recur after surgical gross-total tumor resection.

Intravoxel incoherent motion to differentiate spinal metastasis: A pilot study.

Background: To investigate the value of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to discriminate spinal metastasis from tuberculous spondylitis. Methods: This study included 50 patients with spinal metastasis (32 lung cancer, 7 breast cancer, 11 renal cancer), and 20 with tuberculous spondylitis. The IVIM parameters, including the single-index model (apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)-stand), double exponential model (ADCslow, ADCfast, and f), and the stretched-exponential model parameters (distributed diffusion coefficient (DDC) and α), were acquired. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) analysis was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance. Each parameter was substituted into a logistic regression model to determine the meaningful parameters, and the combined diagnostic performance was evaluated. Results: The ADCfast and f showed significant differences between spinal metastasis and tuberculous spondylitis (all p < 0.05). The logistic regression model results showed that ADCfast and f were independent factors affecting the outcome (P < 0.05). The AUC values of ADCfast and f were 0.823 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.719 to 0.927) and 0.876 (95%CI: 0.782 to 0.969), respectively. ADCfast combined with f showed the highest AUC value of 0.925 (95% CI: 0.858 to 0.992). Conclusions: IVIM MR imaging might be helpful to differentiate spinal metastasis from tuberculous spondylitis, and provide guidance for clinical treatment.

Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the spine: an analysis of imaging findings.

BACKGROUND: Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a low-grade malignant vascular neoplasm with the potential to metastasize. Primary EHE of the spine is very rare and an accurate diagnosis is crucial to treatment planning. We aim to investigate the imaging and clinical data of spinal EHE to improve the understanding of the disease. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the imaging manifestations and clinical data of 12 cases with pathologically confirmed spinal EHE. The imaging features analyzed included number, locations, size, border, density, signal, majority of the lesions, expansile osteolysis, residual bone trabeculae, sclerotic rim, vertebral compression, enhancement. RESULTS: Patients included 5 female and 7 male patients (mean age: 43.0 ± 19.6 years; range 15-73 years). Multiple lesions were noted in 1 case and single lesion was noted in 11 cases. The lesions were located in the thoracic, cervical, lumbar, and sacral vertebrae in 7, 3, 1, and 1 cases, respectively. They were centered in the vertebral body and posterior elements in 9 and 3 cases, respectively. Residual bone trabeculae, no sclerotic margin, and surrounding soft-tissue mass were noted in 11 cases, each, and mild expansile osteolysis and vertebral compression were noted in 10 and 6 cases, respectively. MRI was performed for 11 patients, all of whom showed isointensity on T1WI, hyperintensity or slight hyperintensity on T2WI, and hyperintensity on fat-suppressed T2WI. A marked enhancement pattern was noted in 10 cases. CONCLUSION: Spinal EHE tend to develop in the thoracic vertebrae. EHE should be considered when residual bone trabeculae can be seen in the bone destruction area, accompanied by pathological compression fracture, no sclerotic rim, and high signal intensity for a vascular tumor on T2WI.

Eating More and Fighting Less: Social Foraging Is a Potential Advantage for Successful Expansion of Bird Source Populations.

Animals can expand distributions in response to climatic and environmental changes, but the potential expansive ability of a source population is rarely evaluated using designed experiments. Group foraging can increase survival in new environments, but it also increases intraspecific competition. The trade-off between benefit and conflict needs to be determined. The expanding Light-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis was used as a model to test mechanisms promoting successful expansion. Social foraging and its advantages were evaluated using lab-designed feeding trials. Consuming novel foods was compared between bulbuls and a sympatric, nonexpansive relative species, the finchbill Spizixos semitorques, from native areas at both solitary and social levels. Bulbuls increased their eating times when transferred from solitary to group, whereas social context did not affect finchbills. Bulbuls were significantly more likely to eat with their companions than finchbills when in a group. Thus, exploring food resources in a bulbul source population was facilitated by social context, indicating that social foraging is an important means by which birds successfully expand and respond to environmental changes. This research increases understanding of successful expansion mechanisms and will consequently help predict invasive potentials of alien species.