Risk factors for prostate cancer in men with false-negative mpMRI: A retrospective single center cohort study of image quality scores and clinical parameters

PURPOSE To identify predictors of prostate cancer (PCa) and clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa) in men with prior false-negative multiparametric MRI (mpMRI), focusing on image quality scoring systems and clinical parameters. METHODS In this IRB-approved retrospective single-center study, patients with a negative mpMRI (PI-RADS score ≤2) and subsequent prostate biopsies were included. Histopathological results served as reference standard. Welch's t-Test was conducted to identify significant differences in image quality scores (PI-QUAL and PSHS) between patients with and without PCa/csPCA. In addition, clinical parameters (age, BMI, PSA density) and image quality scores (PI-QUAL and PSHS) were examined as potential predictors of PCa/csPCa detection after a false-negative mpMRI in uni- and multivariate analyses. RESULTS Among 96 patients with negative mpMRI results, 44.8 % had PCa and 16.7 % had csPCa upon biopsy with histopathological confirmation. PI-QUAL scores were significantly lower in patients with PCa (p = 0.03) and csPCa (p = 0.005). PSHS scores were lower in patients with csPCa, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.1). Higher age (p = 0.035) and a lower PI-QUAL score (p < 0.004) were predictors of subsequent csPCa detection upon biopsy, however, a lower PI-QUAL score was the only independent predictor of missed csPCa in false-negative mpMRIs. CONCLUSIONS Lower image quality scores were associated with missed PCa/csPCa in patients with false-negative mpMRIs, with PI-QUAL being an independent predictor of failed csPCa detection. This highlights the importance of image quality for prostate MRI and advocats the inclusion of its measurement into the standardized report

Oval Domes. The Case of the Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados of Valencia

[EN] The dome of the Basilica de la Virgen de los Desamparados of Valencia is an emblematic example of Valencian baroque architecture and painting. Its shape, oval or elliptical, has been the subject of controversy in various studies. The study of oval domes throughout history is a very interesting field of research because, among other things, the determination of the exact shape is important in order to conclude how it was built. We approach the problem from a new mathematical point of view, calculating the distances between the points that make up the real data cloud and the hypothetical form considered, oval or ellipse. The use of modern graphic surveying techniques, carried out with a 3D laser scanner, and computation with the powerful symbolic and numerical mathematical solver, Mathematica, has allowed us to accurately determine the shape of the dome and determine that its sections are not well-described by ellipses. A better fit is obtained assuming that sections are ovals. The programming and generalization of the mathematical method employed in this work will allow it to be applied to determine the exact geometry of other oval or ellipsoidal vaults.Calvo Roselló, V.; Capilla Tamborero, E.; Navarro Fajardo, JC. (2020). Oval Domes. The Case of the Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados of Valencia. Nexus Network Journal. 22(2):393-409. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00004-019-00465-0S393409222Arphe i Villafañe, Juan de. 1585. Tratado De varia conmmensuracion para la Escultura y Architectura. Sevilla: imprenta de Andrea Pescioni i Juan de León.Barrallo J. 2011. Ovals and Ellipses in Architecture. Proceedings of ISAMA 2011, Columbia College, Chicago, Illinois; p. 9–18.Bérchez Gómez, J. 1995. Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados (Valencia). In: Monumentos de la Comunidad Valenciana. Catálogo de Monumentos declarados y conjuntos históricos incoados. Tomo X. Valencia. Arquitectura Religiosa. 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Kim Williams and Michael J. Oswald, vol. II, ch. 61, 217–228. Basel: Birkhäuser.Hill, Michael. 2013. Practical and Symbolic Geometry in Borromini’s San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 72 (4): 555–583.Huerta Fernández, S. 2002. Informe sobre la estabilidad de la cúpula interior de la Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados de Valencia. Valencia. Conselleria Cultura, Educació y Ciència de la Generalitat Valenciana, 20 páginas.Huerta Fernández, S. 2007. Oval domes, geometry and mechanics. Nexus Network Journal 9(2), 211–248.Huerta Fernández, S. 2012a. Análisis estructural de cúpulas tabicadas: la cúpula interior de la Basílica de la Virgen de los Desamparados en Valencia. Construyendo Bóvedas Tabicadas. In: Actas del Simposio Internacional sobre bóvedas tabicadas. Valencia, 26 y 27 de mayo de 2011. Valencia: Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, 318–335.Huerta Fernández, S. 2012b. 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Performance of Survivin mRNA as a Biomarker for Bladder Cancer in the Prospective Study UroScreen

BACKGROUND: Urinary biomarkers have the potential to improve the early detection of bladder cancer. Most of the various known markers, however, have only been evaluated in studies with cross-sectional design. For proper validation a longitudinal design would be preferable. We used the prospective study UroScreen to evaluate survivin, a potential biomarker that has multiple functions in carcinogenesis. METHODS/RESULTS: Survivin was analyzed in 5,716 urine samples from 1,540 chemical workers previously exposed to aromatic amines. The workers participated in a surveillance program with yearly examinations between 2003 and 2010. RNA was extracted from urinary cells and survivin was determined by Real-Time PCR. During the study, 19 bladder tumors were detected. Multivariate generalized estimation equation (GEE) models showed that β-actin, representing RNA yield and quality, had the strongest influence on survivin positivity. Inflammation, hematuria and smoking did not confound the results. Survivin had a sensitivity of 21.1% for all and 36.4% for high-grade tumors. Specificity was 97.5%, the positive predictive value (PPV) 9.5%, and the negative predictive value (NPV) 99.0%. CONCLUSIONS: In this prospective and so far largest study on survivin, the marker showed a good NPV and specificity but a low PPV and sensitivity. This was partly due to the low number of cases, which limits the validity of the results. Compliance, urine quality, problems with the assay, and mRNA stability influenced the performance of survivin. However, most issues could be addressed with a more reliable assay in the future. One important finding is that survivin was not influenced by confounders like inflammation and exhibited a relatively low number of false-positives. Therefore, despite the low sensitivity, survivin may still be considered as a component of a multimarker panel

On the Temporal Characteristics of Performance Variability in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Increased intra-subject variability of reaction times (ISV-RT) is one of the most consistent findings in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although the nature of this phenomenon is still unclear, it has been hypothesised to reflect interference from the Default Mode Network (DMN). So far, ISV-RT has been operationally defined either as a frequency spectrum of the underlying RT time series, or as a measure of dispersion of the RT scores distribution. Here, we use a novel RT analysis framework to link these hitherto unconnected facets of ISV-RT by determining the sensitivity of different measures of RT dispersion to the frequency content of the underlying RT time series. N=27 patients with ADHD and N=26 healthy controls performed several visual N-back tasks. Different measures of RT dispersion were repeatedly modelled after individual frequency bands of the underlying RT time series had been either extracted or suppressed using frequency-domain filtering. We found that the intra-subject standard deviation of RT preserves the “1/f noise” characteristic typical of human RT data. Furthermore and most importantly, we found that the ex-Gaussian parameter τ is rather exclusively sensitive to frequencies below 0.025 Hz in the underlying RT time series and that the particularly slow RTs, which nourish τ, occur regularly as part of an quasi-periodic, ultra-slow RT fluctuation. Overall, our results are compatible with the idea that ISV-RT is modulated by an endogenous, slowly fluctuating process that may reflect DMN interference