Performance Evaluation of Image Segmentation Using Dual-Energy Spectral CT Images with Deep Learning Image Reconstruction: A Phantom Study.

: To evaluate the medical image segmentation performance of monochromatic images in various energy levels. : The low-density module (25 mm in diameter, 6 Hounsfield Unit (HU) in density difference from background) from the ACR464 phantom was scanned at both 10 mGy and 5 mGy dose levels. Virtual monoenergetic images (VMIs) at different energy levels of 40, 50, 60, 68, 74, and 100 keV were generated.

Deep Learning Image Reconstruction (DLIR) Algorithm to Maintain High Image Quality and Diagnostic Accuracy in Quadruple-low CT Angiography of Children with Pulmonary Sequestration: A Case Control Study.

Rationale And Objectives: CT angiography (CTA) is a commonly used clinical examination to detect abnormal arteries and diagnose pulmonary sequestration (PS). Reducing the radiation dose, contrast medium dosage, and injection pressure in CTA, especially in children, has always been an important research topic, but few research is proven by pathology. The current study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy for children with PS in a quadruple-low CTA (4L-CTA: low tube voltage, radiation, contrast medium, and injection flow rate) using deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) in comparison with routine protocol CTA with adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-V (ASIR-V) MATERIALS AND METHODS: 53 patients (1.

Trichothecenes toxicity in humans and animals: Unraveling the mechanisms and harnessing phytochemicals for prevention.

Mycotoxins are the major widespread hazardous substances in feed and food and are widely distributed throughout the world. Mycotoxins are a major food safety concern since they can produce substantial toxic and carcinogenic consequences in human and animals when consumed. Trichothecenes (TCTs), a class of highly toxic mycotoxins mainly generated by Fusarium species, are among the most prevalent food pollutants.

CHD1 loss reprograms SREBP2-driven cholesterol synthesis to fuel androgen-responsive growth and castration resistance in SPOP-mutated prostate tumors.

Despite undergoing castration, most individuals with prostate cancer (PCa) experience progression to castration-resistant PCa (CRPC), in which the androgen receptor (AR) remains an important driver. Concurrent genetic alterations in SPOP and CHD1 define a unique subtype of PCa, but their interactions in tumor progression and therapy response remain unclear. Here, we provide genetic evidence supporting that CHD1 loss accelerates disease progression and confers resistance to castration in males with SPOP-mutated PCa.

Efficacy of perioperative esketamine on postoperative depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Postoperative depression (POD) represents a serious complication in surgical patients, exacerbating morbidity and mortality rates while imposing a substantial economic burden on healthcare systems. Despite its widespread clinical use, the role of esketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist with rapid antidepressant effects, remains understudied in perioperative settings. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of esketamine on postoperative depression.

Tacrolimus induces insulin receptor substrate 1 hyperphosphorylation and inhibits mTORc1/S6K1 cascade in HL7702 cells.

Background: Tacrolimus (FK506) is a key calcineurin inhibitor used to prevent organ transplant rejection and is effective in improving graft survival. However, it is linked to hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, contributing to new-onset diabetes after transplantation and negatively affecting islet function.

Aim: To study the effects of tacrolimus on the insulin signaling pathway of hepatocytes.

Invasion Alters Soil Nitrogen Dynamics and Competition.

Invasive plants often alter biological soil conditions to increase their own competitiveness. Through indoor simulated nitrogen deposition culture experiments, we investigated the differences in growth indicators and nutrient content levels between the invasive plant Cav. and the native symbiotic plant (L.

Application of metal artifact reduction algorithm in reducing metal artifacts in post-surgery pediatric low radiation dose spine computed tomography (CT) images.

Background: The commonly used methods for removing metal-induced beam hardening artifacts often rely on the use of high energy photons with either high tube voltage or high energy virtual monoenergetic images in dual-energy computed tomography (CT), the radiation dose was usually relatively high in order to generate adequate signals. This retrospective study is designed to evaluate the application of a metal artifact reduction (MAR) algorithm in reducing pedicle screw metal-caused beam hardening artifacts in post-surgery pediatric low radiation dose spine CT images.

Methods: Seventy-seven children (3-15 years) who had undergone a low dose CT with 140 or 100 kV were enrolled.

Biodegradable microspheres come into sight: A promising biomaterial for delivering drug to the posterior segment of the eyeball.

Posterior segment disease acts as a major cause of irreversible visual impairments. Successful treatment of posterior segment disease requires the efficient delivery of therapeutic substances to the targeted lesion. However, the complex ocular architecture makes the bioavailability of topically applied drugs extremely low.

Nitrogen-cycling microbial communities respond differently to nitrogen addition under two contrasting grassland soil types.

Introduction: The impact of nitrogen (N) deposition on the soil N-transforming process in grasslands necessitates further investigation into how N input influences the structural composition and diversity of soil N-cycling microbial communities across different grassland types.

Methods: In this study, we selected two types of grassland soils in northwest Liaoning, temperate steppe and warm-temperate shrub, and conducted short-term N addition experiments using organic N, ammonium N, and nitrate N as sources with three concentration gradients to simulate N deposition. Illumina MiSeq sequencing technology was employed to sequence genes associated with N-cycling microbes including N-fixing, ammonia-oxidizing and denitrifying bacteria, and ammonia-oxidizing archaea.

In defense of local descriptor-based few-shot object detection.

State-of-the-art image object detection computational models require an intensive parameter fine-tuning stage (using deep convolution network, etc). with tens or hundreds of training examples. In contrast, human intelligence can robustly learn a new concept from just a few instances (i.

Performance evaluation of deep learning image reconstruction algorithm for dual-energy spectral CT imaging: A phantom study.

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) algorithm in dual-energy spectral CT (DEsCT) as a function of radiation dose and image energy level, in comparison with filtered-back-projection (FBP) and adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-V (ASIR-V) algorithms.

Methods: An ACR464 phantom was scanned with DEsCT at four dose levels (3.5 mGy, 5 mGy, 7.

Immune checkpoint B7-H3 is a therapeutic vulnerability in prostate cancer harboring PTEN and TP53 deficiencies.

Checkpoint immunotherapy has yielded meaningful responses across many cancers but has shown modest efficacy in advanced prostate cancer. B7 homolog 3 protein (B7-H3/) is an immune checkpoint molecule and has emerged as a promising therapeutic target. However, much remains to be understood regarding B7-H3's role in cancer progression, predictive biomarkers for B7-H3-targeted therapy, and combinatorial strategies.

Alternative splicing of modulates killer lymphocyte-triggered pyroptosis.

Granzyme A from killer lymphocytes cleaves gasdermin B (GSDMB) and triggers pyroptosis in targeted human tumor cells, eliciting antitumor immunity. However, GSDMB has a controversial role in pyroptosis and has been linked to both anti- and protumor functions. Here, we found that splicing variants are functionally distinct.

BART-D2 subtype of EBV encoded BART miRNA cluster 1 region is strongly associated with endemic nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded BamHI A rightward transcript (BART) microRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in viral infection and tumorigenesis. The association of sequence variations in the BART miRNA cluster 1 region with diseases remains unclear. Herein, 6 types and 11 subtypes of BART cluster 1 were identified in 354 tumors and healthy donors (HDs) from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)-endemic and nonendemic China (genotyped data), and 905 EBV genomes retrieved from GenBank from diseased and normal people from around the world (archived data).

CHD1, a multifaceted epigenetic remodeler in prostate cancer.

Chromatin remodeling proteins contribute to DNA replication, transcription, repair, and recombination. The chromodomain helicase DNA-binding (CHD) family of remodelers plays crucial roles in embryonic development, hematopoiesis, and neurogenesis. As the founding member, CHD1 is capable of assembling nucleosomes, remodeling chromatin structure, and regulating gene transcription.

CHD1 Promotes Sensitivity to Aurora Kinase Inhibitors by Suppressing Interaction of AURKA with Its Coactivator TPX2.

Unlabelled: Clinical studies have shown that subsets of patients with cancer achieve a significant benefit from Aurora kinase inhibitors, suggesting an urgent need to identify biomarkers for predicting drug response. Chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 1 (CHD1) is involved in chromatin remodeling, DNA repair, and transcriptional plasticity. Prior studies have demonstrated that CHD1 has distinct expression patterns in cancers with different molecular features, but its impact on drug responsiveness remains understudied.

Transcriptome analysis of thymic tissues from Chinese Partridge Shank chickens with or without Newcastle disease virus LaSota vaccine injection via high-throughput RNA sequencing.

The LaSota strain of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is a commonly used vaccine to control Newcastle disease. However, improper immunization is a common reason for vaccine failure. Hence, it is imperative to thoroughly explore innate immunity-related molecular regulatory responses to the LaSota vaccine.

Influence of normal forces on the frictional behavior in tribological systems made of different bracket types and wire dimensions.

The aim of the present work was measuring the effect of varying normal forces on frictional forces applied to different bracket types in combination with archwires made of NiTi and stainless steel of variable cross section. The measurements were carried out in artificial saliva. Three-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc tests (α=0.

Application of deep learning image reconstruction algorithm to improve image quality in CT angiography of children with Takayasu arteritis.

Background: The inflammatory indexes of children with Takayasu arteritis (TAK) usually tend to be normal immediately after treatment, therefore, CT angiography (CTA) has become an important method to evaluate the status of TAK and sometime is even more sensitive than laboratory test results.

Objective: To evaluate image quality improvement in CTA of children diagnosed with TAK using a deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) in comparison to other image reconstruction algorithms.

Methods: hirty-two TAK patients (9.

Performance evaluation of using shorter contrast injection and 70 kVp with deep learning image reconstruction for reduced contrast medium dose and radiation dose in coronary CT angiography for children: a pilot study.

Background: Iterative reconstruction algorithms are often used to reduce image noise in low-dose coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) but encounter limitations. The newly introduced deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) algorithm may provide new opportunities. We assessed the image quality and diagnostic performance of DLIR in low radiation dose and contrast medium dose CCTA of pediatric patients with 70 kVp and a shortened injection protocol.

Improving the image quality of pediatric chest CT angiography with low radiation dose and contrast volume using deep learning image reconstruction.

Background: Chest CT angiography (CTA) is a common clinical examination technique for children. Iterative reconstruction algorithms are often used to reduce image noise but encounter limitations under low dose conditions. Deep learning-based image reconstruction algorithms have been developed to overcome these limitations.

Application of a deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) algorithm in head CT imaging for children to improve image quality and lesion detection.

Background: To evaluate the performance of a Deep Learning Image Reconstruction (DLIR) algorithm in pediatric head CT for improving image quality and lesion detection with 0.625 mm thin-slice images.

Methods: Low-dose axial head CT scans of 50 children with 120 kV, 0.

Effect of different media on frictional forces between tribological systems made from self-ligating brackets in combination with different stainless steel wire dimensions.

The purpose was to determine the effect of different environments (artificial saliva, human saliva, distilled water, dry storage) on frictional forces between various tribological systems made from self-ligating brackets in combination with stainless-steel wires (dimensions: 0.016″×0.022″, 0.