Impact of myocardial injury on regional left ventricular function in the course of acute myocarditis with preserved ejection fraction: insights from segmental feature tracking strain analysis using cine cardiac MRI

The aim of this study was to provide insights into myocardial adaptation over time in myocyte injury caused by acute myocarditis with preserved ejection fraction. The effect of myocardial injury, as defined by the presence of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), on the change of left ventricular (LV) segmental strain parameters was evaluated in a longitudinal analysis. Patients with a first episode of acute myocarditis were enrolled retrospectively. Peak radial (PRS), longitudinal (PLS) and circumferential (PCS) LV segmental strain values at baseline and at follow-up were computed using feature tracking cine cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. The change of segmental strain values in LGE positive (LGE+) and LGE negative (LGE−) segments was compared over a course of 89 ± 20 days. In 24 patients, 100 LGE+ segments and 284 LGE− segments were analysed. Between LGE+ and LGE− segments, significant differences were found for the change of segmental PCS (p < 0.001) and segmental PRS (p = 0.006). LGE + segments showed an increase in contractility, indicating recovery, and LGE− segments showed a decrease in contractility, indicating normalisation after a hypercontractile state or impairment of an initially normal contracting segment. No significant difference between LGE+ and LGE− segments was found for the change in segmental PLS. In the course of acute myocarditis with preserved ejection fraction, regional myocardial function adapts inversely in segments with and without LGE. As these effects seem to counterbalance each other, global functional parameters might be of limited use in monitoring functional recovery of these patients

Abdominal ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Diagnostic test accuracy). The objectives are as follows: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of abdominal ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), alone or in combination, for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) of any size and at any stage in people with chronic advanced liver disease, either in a surveillance programme or in a clinical setting

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound compared with computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography-computed tomography for diagnosing liver metastases in people with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer (Protocol)

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (diagnostic). The objectives are as follows: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) versus contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and fluro-18-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) for diagnosing liver metastases in people with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma in advanced chronic liver disease

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (Diagnostic test accuracy). The objectives are as follows:. To assess the diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for the diagnosis of HCC of any size and at any stage in people with chronic advanced liver disease

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound compared with computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography-computed tomography for diagnosing liver metastases in people with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer (Protocol)

This is a protocol for a Cochrane Review (diagnostic). The objectives are as follows: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) versus contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and fluro-18-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) for diagnosing liver metastases in people with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer

Spinoza’s error: Memory for truth and falsity

Two theoretical frameworks have been proposed to account for the representation of truth and falsity in human memory: the Cartesian model and the Spinozan model. Both models presume that during information processing a mental representation of the information is stored along with a tag indicating its truth value. However, the two models disagree on the nature of these tags. According to the Cartesian model, true information receives a “true” tag and false information receives a “false” tag. In contrast, the Spinozan model claims that only false information receives a “false” tag, whereas untagged information is automatically accepted as true. To test the Cartesian and Spinozan models, we conducted two source memory experiments in which participants studied true and false trivia statements from three different sources differing in credibility (i.e., presenting 100% true, 50% true and 50% false, or 100% false statements). In Experiment 1, half of the participants were informed about the source credibility prior to the study phase. As compared to a control group, this precue group showed improved source memory for both true and false statements, but not for statements with an uncertain validity status. Moreover, memory did not differ for truth and falsity in the precue group. As Experiment 2 revealed, this finding is replicated even when using a 1-week rather than a 20-min retention interval between study and test phases. The results of both experiments clearly contradict the Spinozan model but can be explained in terms of the Cartesian model