A Spectrum of Ultrasound and MR Imaging of Fetal Gastrointestinal Abnormalities: Part 2 Anorectal Malformation, Liver, and Abdominal Wall Anomalies.

Ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are two modalities for diagnosing fetal gastrointestinal (GI) anomalies. Ultrasound (US) is the modality of choice. MRI can be used as a complementary method. Despite its expanding utilization in central nervous system (CNS) fetal malformation, MRI has not yet been established for evaluation of fetal GI abnormalities. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the clinical implications of MRI investigations following screening by US.

A Spectrum of Ultrasound and MR Imaging of Fetal Gastrointestinal Abnormalities: Part 1 Esophagus to Colon.

Ultrasound (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are two modalities for diagnosing fetal gastrointestinal (GI) anomalies. Ultrasound (US) is the modality of choice. MRI can be used as a complementary method. Despite its expanding utilization in central nervous system (CNS) fetal malformation, MRI has not yet been established for evaluation of fetal GI abnormalities. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the clinical implications of MRI investigations following screening by US.

RIL-Contour: a Medical Imaging Dataset Annotation Tool for and with Deep Learning.

Deep-learning algorithms typically fall within the domain of supervised artificial intelligence and are designed to "learn" from annotated data. Deep-learning models require large, diverse training datasets for optimal model convergence. The effort to curate these datasets is widely regarded as a barrier to the development of deep-learning systems. We developed RIL-Contour to accelerate medical image annotation for and with deep-learning. A major goal driving the development of the software was to create an environment which enables clinically oriented users to utilize deep-learning models to rapidly annotate medical imaging. RIL-Contour supports using fully automated deep-learning methods, semi-automated methods, and manual methods to annotate medical imaging with voxel and/or text annotations. To reduce annotation error, RIL-Contour promotes the standardization of image annotations across a dataset. RIL-Contour accelerates medical imaging annotation through the process of annotation by iterative deep learning (AID). The underlying concept of AID is to iteratively annotate, train, and utilize deep-learning models during the process of dataset annotation and model development. To enable this, RIL-Contour supports workflows in which multiple-image analysts annotate medical images, radiologists approve the annotations, and data scientists utilize these annotations to train deep-learning models. To automate the feedback loop between data scientists and image analysts, RIL-Contour provides mechanisms to enable data scientists to push deep newly trained deep-learning models to other users of the software. RIL-Contour and the AID methodology accelerate dataset annotation and model development by facilitating rapid collaboration between analysts, radiologists, and engineers.

A new modality for the estimation of corrected flow time via electrocardiography as an alternative to Doppler ultrasonography.

BACKGROUND: Evaluation of corrected flow time (FTc) via ultrasonography is one of the suggested modalities for the assessment of intravascular volume status. This study aimed to compare the results of FTc of carotid artery measured via ultrasonography, as a measure of mechanical outcome of the cardiac cycle, with the results of FTc estimation from a new modified formula via electrocardiography (ECG), as a measure of electrical function of the cardiac cycle. METHODS: Healthy volunteers were evaluated before and after a passive leg raising (PLR) maneuver. FTc was measured concurrently before and after PLR via a modified method from ECG and via ultrasonography of the carotid artery. RESULTS: A total number of 98 healthy volunteers (51 women and 47 men) with a mean age of 30.69 ± 6.28 years were included. There was a significant correlation between FTc measured by ultrasonography and estimated by ECG both before PLR and after PLR (r = .878, p < .0001 and r = .797, p < .0001, respectively). Changes in FTc were slightly higher in measurements by ultrasonography compared to estimations by ECG (22.33 ± 17.15 ms0.5 vs. 15.86 ± 14.25 ms0.5 , p = .001). CONCLUSION: Estimation of FTc via ECG is potentially an effective and feasible method for the assessment of volume status at the clinical settings. Further investigations should determine the significance of differences that may be observed between ultrasonography and ECG in patients with either dehydration or volume overload and in the need of real-time volume status assessment.

The Epidemiology of Migraine Headache in General Population of Tehran, Iran.

BACKGROUND: Migraine as one of the most common types of headache is known to cause serious intervention with routine activities of affected individuals due to the devastating nature of attacks. The aim of this study was to provide epidemiological data of migraine in Iranian general population. METHODS: In this cross-sectional general population study, migraine diagnoses (both episodic and chronic) were based on the International Classification of Headache Disorders. Face-to-face interviews were performed by 5 trained medical interns on a sample size of 2,300 people aged 12-65 years. RESULTS: A total number of 2,076 subjects were enrolled for final analysis. The mean age of the subjects at the time of the study was 36.27 ± 14.56 years (age range 12-65 years). The 1-year prevalence of migraine was 27.6%. The prevalence of migraine among female subjects was significantly higher than among male subjects (36.7 vs. 21.6%, p < 0.001). The mean age of the subjects with migraine was 35.9 ± 12.96 years. Totally, 49.9% of migraine sufferers experienced at least one episode of aura. The most prevalent type of aura was numbness reported in 32.4% of migraine subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the higher prevalence of migraine among Iranian general population compared to most of the other populations investigated by previous studies, these individuals experience a less severe course of disease.

Central Obesity and Liver Iron Content: A Noninvasive Assessment in General Population by Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Existing evidence points to an altered status of iron metabolism in obesity. We aimed to investigate whether central obesity is independently associated with estimated liver iron content (liver T2* value) in general population that used the noninvasive assessment method by MRI. METHODS: The study was carried out on 200 subjects randomly selected from the Golestan Cohort Study who underwent abdominal MRI. Quantitative T2* maps of entire cross-sectional area of liver were calculated using a semi-automated software for estimating the levels of iron content. Segmentation and calculation of visceral (VFA) and subcutaneous fat area (SFA) were also performed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in mean liver T2* values between obese (body mass index, BMI >30 kg/m2) and non-obese (BMI ≤30 kg/m2) subjects. After controlling for other covariates, no statistically significant association was detected between liver T2* values and VFA, SFA and VFA/SFA ratio. The drop in the relative signal intensity as an indicator of steatosis and serum ferritin predicted liver T2* values that almost had the same strength (standardized ß of -0.41 and -0.41, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Central obesity indices are not correlated with estimated liver iron content by MRI. Hepatic steatosis and serum ferritin seem to be the best predictors of hepatic T2* value. Since central obesity indices were not direct predictors of hepatic T2* value after the adjustment for confounding factors, it is possible that lipid accumulation in the liver locally, but not systematically, influences hepatic iron metabolism.

Minocycline combination therapy with fluvoxamine in moderate-to-severe obsessive-compulsive disorder: A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized trial.

AIM: Several lines of evidence implicate glutamatergic dysfunction in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), presenting this neurotransmitter as a target for the development of novel pharmacotherapy. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of minocycline as an augmentative agent to fluvoxamine in the treatment of patients with OCD. METHODS: One hundred and two patients with the diagnosis of moderate-to-severe OCD were recruited to this study. A randomized double-blind trial was designed and patients received either L-carnosine or placebo as adjuvant to fluvoxamine for 10 weeks. The patients randomly received either minocycline 100 mg twice per day or placebo for 10 weeks. All patients received fluvoxamine (100 mg/day) for the first 4 weeks, followed by 200 mg/day for the rest of the trial, regardless of their treatment groups. Participants were evaluated using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). The main outcome measure was to assess the efficacy of minocycline in improving the OCD symptoms. RESULTS: General linear model repeated measures demonstrated significant effect for time × treatment interaction on the Y-BOCS total scores, F(1.49, 137.93) = 7.1, P = 0.003, and Y-BOCS Obsession subscale score, F(1.54, 141.94) = 9.72, P = 0.001, and near significant effect for the Y-BOCS Compulsion subscale score, F(1.27, 117.47) = 2.92, P = 0.08. A significantly greater rate of partial and complete response was observed in the minocycline group (P < 0.001). The frequency of side-effects was not significantly different between the treatment arms. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that minocycline could be a tolerable and effective adjuvant in the management of patients with OCD.

Riluzole in augmentation of fluvoxamine for moderate to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

AIM: The aim of the present randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 8-week trial was to assess the efficacy and tolerability of riluzole augmentation of fluvoxamine in treatment of patients with moderate to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. METHODS: Patients were randomized into two parallel groups to receive fluvoxamine plus placebo or fluvoxamine plus riluzole (50 mg twice daily). All patients, regardless of their treatment group, received fluvoxamine at 100 mg/day for the initial 4 weeks of the study followed by 200 mg/day of fluvoxamine for the rest of the trial course. A total of 50 patients (25 in each group) were evaluated for response to treatment using the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) at baseline and at weeks 4, 8 and 10. Side-effects were recorded using predesigned checklists in each visit. Repeated-measure analysis of variance showed a significant effect for time × treatment interaction in the Y-BOCS total score and a significant effect for time × treatment interaction in the Y-BOCS Compulsive subscale score between the two groups. RESULTS: Repeated-measure analysis of variance showed a significant effect for time × treatment interaction (Greenhouse-Geisser corrected: F = 4.07, d.f. = 1.22, P = 0.04) in the Y-BOCS total score and a significant effect for time × treatment interaction (Greenhouse-Geisser corrected: F = 4.45, d.f. = 1.33, P = 0.028) in the Y-BOCS Compulsive subscale score between the two groups. Riluzole augmentation therapy demonstrated higher, partial or complete treatment response according to the Y-BOCS total scores. CONCLUSION: Riluzole may be of clinical use as an adjuvant agent to fluvoxamine in treatment of moderate to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Celecoxib adjunctive therapy for acute bipolar mania: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Recent research has focused on the inflammatory cascade as a key culprit in the etiology of bipolar disorder. We hypothesized that celecoxib, via its anti-inflammatory properties, may have a therapeutic role in mood disorder. METHODS: Forty-six inpatients with the diagnosis of acute bipolar mania without psychotic features participated in a parallel, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, and underwent six weeks of treatment with either celecoxib (400 mg daily) or placebo as an adjunctive treatment to sodium valproate. Patients were evaluated using the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). The primary outcome measure with respect to efficacy was the mean decrease in YMRS score from baseline to the study endpoint, which was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: A significant difference was observed in the change in YMRS scores on Day 42 compared to baseline in the two groups (p < 0.001). The changes at the endpoint compared to baseline were -29.78 ± 21.78 (mean ± standard deviation) and -21.78 ± 7.16 for the celecoxib and placebo groups, respectively. A significantly higher remission rate was observed in the celecoxib group (87.0%) than the placebo group (43.5%) at Week 6 (p = 0.005). General linear model repeated measures demonstrated a significant effect for the time × treatment interaction on the YMRS scores [F(2.27,99.98) = 6.67, p = 0.001]. CONCLUSIONS: Celecoxib is an effective adjuvant therapy in the treatment of manic episodes (without psychotic features) of bipolar mood disorder. The mood-stabilizing role of the drug might be mediated via its action on the inflammatory cascade.

Partial lateral internal sphincterotomy versus combined botulinum toxin A injection and topical diltiazem in the treatment of chronic anal fissure: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and complications associated with combined topical diltiazem cream and botulinum toxin A injection versus partial lateral internal sphincterotomy in chronic anal fissure. DESIGN: This study is a parallel, randomized controlled trial (using the block randomization method). SETTING: This study was performed at a university hospital in Iran. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-nine patients who had chronic anal fissures were included. INTERVENTION: A total of 99 patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups; the first group received combined topical diltiazem ointment (for 6 weeks) and botulinum toxin A injection (once) (n = 49), and the second group received partial lateral internal sphincterotomy (n = 50). All the patients were followed up for 1 year. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes measured were the healing of the anal fissure and the development of incontinence as the major adverse event during the 1-year follow-up period. RESULTS: The overall healing rate was 65% and 94% in the botulinum toxin A-diltiazem and partial lateral internal sphincterotomy groups (p < 0.001). The patients in the partial lateral internal sphincterotomy group experienced significantly higher incontinence scores (p = 0.04) according to the Cleveland Clinic Florida-Fecal Incontinence scoring system. In patients who had chronic anal fissure for ≤12 months, no statistical difference was observed in the healing rate between the botulinum toxin A-diltiazem and partial lateral internal sphincterotomy groups (100% vs 100%). However, in the patients with longer chronic fissures, the healing rate was significantly higher in the partial lateral internal sphincterotomy group (86% [18/21] vs 23% [5/21], p < 0.001). LIMITATIONS: The 1-year follow-up period, subjective definitions of itching, and lack of anorectal manometry examinations and data regarding the effect of each treatment on anal sphincter pressure at rest and contraction are the key limitations of this study. CONCLUSION: Combined botulinum toxin A injection with a topical application of diltiazem could be as effective as partial lateral internal sphincterotomy in the treatment of chronic anal fissure in patients who have chronic anal fissure for ≤12 months. However, in chronic anal fissures of longer duration, partial lateral internal sphincterotomy is associated with a significantly higher cure rate.

Pioglitazone adjunctive therapy for depressive episode of bipolar disorder: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The antidepressive effect of pioglitazone has been noted in patients with major depressive disorder in absence of metabolic syndrome. This study was conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of pioglitazone in patients with bipolar depression without concomitant metabolic syndrome or diabetes. METHOD: Forty-eight outpatients with the diagnosis of bipolar I disorder and a major depressive episode participated in a parallel, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, and 44 patients underwent 6-week treatment with either pioglitazone (30 mg/day) or placebo as an adjunctive treatment to lithium. Therapeutic serum lithium levels of 0.6-0.8 mEq/L were required for two or more consecutive weeks immediately before starting pioglitazone and during the 6-week study. Patients were evaluated using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) at baseline and weeks 1, 2, 4, and 6. The primary outcome was to evaluate the efficacy of pioglitazone in improving the depressive symptoms. RESULT: General linear model repeated measures showed significant effect for time × treatment interaction on the HDRS scores [F(2.78, 116.65) = 4.77, P = .005]. Significantly greater reduction was observed in HDRS scores in the pioglitazone group than the placebo group from baseline HDRS score at weeks 2, 4, and 6, P = .003, .006, and .006, respectively. No serious adverse event was observed. CONCLUSION: This study showed that pioglitazone could be a tolerable and effective adjunctive therapy for improving depressive symptoms in bipolar disorder without type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome.

Celecoxib Versus Diclofenac in Mild to Moderate Depression Management Among Breast Cancer Patients: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND: Depression is a well-known complication of breast cancer, which is known to adversely affect quality of life, prognosis, and survival in breast cancer patients. Celecoxib, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, which acts via the selective inhibition of cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2, has been shown to have antidepressive effects. OBJECTIVES: Here, we aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of celecoxib, a selective inhibitor of COX-2, with diclofenac, a nonselective inhibitor of both COX-1 and COX-2 in reducing depressive symptoms and pain in breast cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 52 outpatients with breast cancer with mild to moderate depression, who suffered from pain and needed analgesics, participated in the trial and underwent 6 weeks of treatment with either celecoxib (200 mg twice daily) or diclofenac (50 mg twice daily). Participants were investigated using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). The primary outcome measure was to compare the antidepressant effects of celecoxib and diclofenac. RESULTS: Repeated-measures analysis demonstrated significant effect for Time × Treatment interaction on the HDRS scores: F(1.76, 87.85) = 9.66; P < 0.001. By study conclusion, greater improvement was observed in the HDRS score of the celecoxib group compared with the diclofenac group (P = 0.002). No one experienced remission (HDRS ≤ 7) in either group. Frequencies of adverse events were not significantly different between groups. CONCLUSION: Celecoxib seems to possess superior antidepressive effects compared with diclofenac in breast cancer patients with mild to moderate depression.

The potential impact of computed tomography coronary calcium score screening on patients with dyslipidemia.

Background: Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring helps determine whether patients with known coronary artery disease (CAD) should initiate medical management by predicting future cardiac event risk. CAC scoring is underutilized because many insurance companies consider it experimental. This study aimed to determine whether CAC screening of patients at risk for CAD is associated with decreased risk of myocardial infarction and improved survival. Methods: The TriNetX research network was used for this study. Two cohorts of 86,574 patients aged 40 to 70 years were created. All patients were diagnosed with dyslipidemia and without CAD, and the cohorts were matched for demographics, comorbidities, and statin use. One cohort had been screened with CAC scoring while the other had not. The primary outcomes of this study were myocardial infarction and overall survival at 5 years. Results: Screened patients had 44% fewer myocardial infarction events at 5 years with a 76% lower risk of death. Conclusion: CAC scoring is associated with reduced risk of myocardial infarction and death in asymptomatic dyslipidemia patients and should be considered as a screening tool in these patients. The presumed mechanism for improved outcomes is that early identification of CAD results in earlier or more intensive treatment, reducing future cardiac event risk.

Postmenopausal Tubular Adenoma of the Breast: A Case Report.

Tubular adenoma (TA) of the breast is a rare, benign proliferative breast lesion that is predominantly composed of closely compacted tubules with an inner layer of epithelial cells and an outer layer of myoepithelial cells. They are regarded as residing on the opposite end of a spectrum of proliferative breast lesions from fibroadenomas, which are predominantly stromal. The majority of TAs are found in premenopausal women and the reason for this demographic predilection is not yet known. It is generally not possible to distinguish between TA and other, higher-risk breast lesions prior to biopsy or resection because the clinical and radiographic findings overlap. In this article, we present the case of a TA in a postmenopausal patient and review the epidemiology, histology, carcinogenic potential, and management of such lesions.

Radiological manifestations of chondromyxoid fibroma in the zygoma: A case report and literature review.

Chondromyxoid fibroma (CMF) is a rare benign bone tumor of cartilaginous origin, with an extremely rare craniofacial occurrence. Considering its rarity, craniofacial CMF presents a diagnostic challenge for radiologists. To our knowledge, only seven cases of zygomatic CMF have been described in the literature, only one of which was in the paediatric age group. Furthermore, none of the currently reported cases include MRI findings of zygomatic CMF. Here, we present a paediatric case of CMF of the zygoma with a comprehensive literature review of the reported cases, focusing on their radiological features and its differential diagnosis.

Complete abdomen and pelvis segmentation using U-net variant architecture.

PURPOSE: Organ segmentation of computed tomography (CT) imaging is essential for radiotherapy treatment planning. Treatment planning requires segmentation not only of the affected tissue, but nearby healthy organs-at-risk, which is laborious and time-consuming. We present a fully automated segmentation method based on the three-dimensional (3D) U-Net convolutional neural network (CNN) capable of whole abdomen and pelvis segmentation into 33 unique organ and tissue structures, including tissues that may be overlooked by other automated segmentation approaches such as adipose tissue, skeletal muscle, and connective tissue and vessels. Whole abdomen segmentation is capable of quantifying exposure beyond a handful of organs-at-risk to all tissues within the abdomen. METHODS: Sixty-six (66) CT examinations of 64 individuals were included in the training and validation sets and 18 CT examinations from 16 individuals were included in the test set. All pixels in each examination were segmented by image analysts (with physician correction) and assigned one of 33 labels. Segmentation was performed with a 3D U-Net variant architecture which included residual blocks, and model performance was quantified on 18 test cases. Human interobserver variability (using semiautomated segmentation) was also reported on two scans, and manual interobserver variability of three individuals was reported on one scan. Model performance was also compared to several of the best models reported in the literature for multiple organ segmentation. RESULTS: The accuracy of the 3D U-Net model ranges from a Dice coefficient of 0.95 in the liver, 0.93 in the kidneys, 0.79 in the pancreas, 0.69 in the adrenals, and 0.51 in the renal arteries. Model accuracy is within 5% of human segmentation in eight of 19 organs and within 10% accuracy in 13 of 19 organs. CONCLUSIONS: The CNN approaches the accuracy of human tracers and on certain complex organs displays more consistent prediction than human tracers. Fully automated deep learning-based segmentation of CT abdomen has the potential to improve both the speed and accuracy of radiotherapy dose prediction for organs-at-risk.

Fully Automated Segmentation of Head CT Neuroanatomy Using Deep Learning.

PURPOSE: To develop a deep learning model that segments intracranial structures on head CT scans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, a primary dataset containing 62 normal noncontrast head CT scans from 62 patients (mean age, 73 years; age range, 27-95 years) acquired between August and December 2018 was used for model development. Eleven intracranial structures were manually annotated on the axial oblique series. The dataset was split into 40 scans for training, 10 for validation, and 12 for testing. After initial training, eight model configurations were evaluated on the validation dataset and the highest performing model was evaluated on the test dataset. Interobserver variability was reported using multirater consensus labels obtained from the test dataset. To ensure that the model learned generalizable features, it was further evaluated on two secondary datasets containing 12 volumes with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) and 30 normal volumes from a publicly available source. Statistical significance was determined using categorical linear regression with P < .05. RESULTS: Overall Dice coefficient on the primary test dataset was 0.84 ± 0.05 (standard deviation). Performance ranged from 0.96 ± 0.01 (brainstem and cerebrum) to 0.74 ± 0.06 (internal capsule). Dice coefficients were comparable to expert annotations and exceeded those of existing segmentation methods. The model remained robust on external CT scans and scans demonstrating ventricular enlargement. The use of within-network normalization and class weighting facilitated learning of underrepresented classes. CONCLUSION: Automated segmentation of CT neuroanatomy is feasible with a high degree of accuracy. The model generalized to external CT scans as well as scans demonstrating iNPH.Supplemental material is available for this article.© RSNA, 2020.

Outcomes of Reoperation After Laparoscopic Gastric Plication Failure.

BACKGROUND: Management of failed laparoscopic gastric plication (LGP), defined as weight regain or inadequate weight loss, is a challenging issue. METHODS: This prospective investigation was conducted in individuals with morbid obesity who had undergone LGP from 2000 to 2016. Patients with weight loss failure, weight regain, and regain-prone cases were indicated for reoperation. Re-plication, laparoscopic one anastomosis gastric bypass (LOAGB), and modified jejunoileal bypass were done as revisional surgery. RESULTS: Revisional surgery was performed in 102 of 124 patients who needed reoperation. Overall, 39 re-plication, 38 LOAGB, and 25 malabsorptive procedures were performed. Re-plication was the shortest surgery and had the shortest length of hospital stay. The percentage of TWL at 6, 12, and 24 months of follow-up was 20.5%, 25%, and 26.8% for re-plication; 20.2%, 27%, and 30.5% for LOAGB; and 22.9%, 28.9%, and 32.6% for the malabsorptive procedure, respectively. In addition, the percentage of EWL at 6, 12, and 24 months of follow-up was 62%, 74.6%, and 79.6% for re-plication; 51.6%, 68.2%, and 75.9% for LOAGB; and 55.4%, 70.1%, and 79.1% for malabsorptive procedure, respectively. In long-term follow-up, according to %TWL, LOAGB and malabsorptive procedure had better outcome compared to re-plication, whereas there was no statistically significant difference in %EWL among the three surgical approaches. CONCLUSIONS: In terms of weight loss, reoperation on failed LGP was completely successful and no treatment failure was reported. All three revisional procedures, including re-plication, LOAGB, and malabsorptive procedure showed promising results and provided substantial weight loss. Since there is little information about the long-term efficacy and safety of revisional surgery on failed LGP, we highly recommend further investigations to confirm our results.

A Survey of Deep-Learning Applications in Ultrasound: Artificial Intelligence-Powered Ultrasound for Improving Clinical Workflow.

Ultrasound is the most commonly used imaging modality in clinical practice because it is a nonionizing, low-cost, and portable point-of-care imaging tool that provides real-time images. Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered ultrasound is becoming more mature and getting closer to routine clinical applications in recent times because of an increased need for efficient and objective acquisition and evaluation of ultrasound images. Because ultrasound images involve operator-, patient-, and scanner-dependent variations, the adaptation of classical machine learning methods to clinical applications becomes challenging. With their self-learning ability, deep-learning (DL) methods are able to harness exponentially growing graphics processing unit computing power to identify abstract and complex imaging features. This has given rise to tremendous opportunities such as providing robust and generalizable AI models for improving image acquisition, real-time assessment of image quality, objective diagnosis and detection of diseases, and optimizing ultrasound clinical workflow. In this report, the authors review current DL approaches and research directions in rapidly advancing ultrasound technology and present their outlook on future directions and trends for DL techniques to further improve diagnosis, reduce health care cost, and optimize ultrasound clinical workflow.

Acetaminophen as Adjuvant to Risperidone in Chronic Schizophrenia: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.

Objective: Although the pathogenesis of schizophrenia is still uncertain, a variety of predisposing mechanisms have been implicated including inflammatory cascades. The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of acetaminophen as a cyclooxygenase inhibitor in treating patients with schizophrenia. Method: A double-blind clinical trial was performed on 52 patients with chronic schizophrenia. Patients received risperidone (up to 6 mg/day) plus either acetaminophen (975mg/day) or placebo. Psychotic symptoms were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) at the onset of the trial, and at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks post therapy. Results: Compared to the placebo group, the acetaminophen group showed no significant difference in any subtypes of PANSS. Moreover, the side effect profiles of the 2treatment regimens were not significantly different. Conclusion: Acetaminophen adjuvant to risperidone showed no significant effect in ameliorating symptoms of schizophrenia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (registration number: IRCT201410251556N67).