Noise2Recon: Enabling Joint MRI Reconstruction and Denoising with Semi-Supervised and Self-Supervised Learning

Deep learning (DL) has shown promise for faster, high quality accelerated MRI reconstruction. However, supervised DL methods depend on extensive amounts of fully-sampled (labeled) data and are sensitive to out-of-distribution (OOD) shifts, particularly low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) acquisitions. To alleviate this challenge, we propose Noise2Recon, a model-agnostic, consistency training method for joint MRI reconstruction and denoising that can use both fully-sampled (labeled) and undersampled (unlabeled) scans in semi-supervised and self-supervised settings. With limited or no labeled training data, Noise2Recon outperforms compressed sensing and deep learning baselines, including supervised networks, augmentation-based training, fine-tuned denoisers, and self-supervised methods, and matches performance of supervised models, which were trained with 14x more fully-sampled scans. Noise2Recon also outperforms all baselines, including state-of-the-art fine-tuning and augmentation techniques, among low-SNR scans and when generalizing to other OOD factors, such as changes in acceleration factors and different datasets. Augmentation extent and loss weighting hyperparameters had negligible impact on Noise2Recon compared to supervised methods, which may indicate increased training stability. Our code is available at https://github.com/ad12/meddlr

Plasma Amyloid and in vivo Brain Amyloid in Late Middle-Aged Hispanics

BACKGROUND: Determining amyloid positivity is possible with cerebrospinal fluid and brain imaging of amyloid, but these methods are invasive and expensive. OBJECTIVE: To relate plasma amyloid-β (Aβ), measured using Single-molecule array (Simoatrademark) assays, to in vivo brain Aβ, measured using positron emission tomography (PET), examine the accuracy of plasma Aβ to predict brain Aβ positivity, and the relation of APOE ɛ4 with plasma Aβ. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional analysis in a cohort of 345 late middle-aged Hispanic men and women (age 64 years, 72% women). Our primary plasma variable was Aβ 42/Aβ 40 ratio measured with Simoa. Brain Aβ burden was measured as global SUVR with 18F-Florbetaben PET examined continuously and categorically. RESULTS: Plasma Aβ 42/Aβ 40 ratio was inversely associated with global Aβ SUVR (β= -0.13, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): -0.23, -0.03; p = 0.013) and Aβ positivity (Odds Ratio: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.91; p = 0.016), independent of demographics and APOE ɛ4. ROC curves (AUC = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.64, 0.82; p <  0.0001) showed that the optimal threshold for plasma Aβ 42/Aβ 40 ratio in relation to brain Aβ positivity was 0.060 with a sensitivity of 82.4% and specificity of 62.8% . APOE ɛ4 carriers had lower Aβ 42/Aβ 40 ratio and a higher Aβ positivity determined with the Aβ 42/Aβ 40 ratio threshold of 0.060. CONCLUSION: Plasma Aβ 42/Aβ 40 ratio assayed using Simoa is weakly correlated with in vivo brain amyloid and has limited accuracy in screening for amyloid positivity and for studying risk factors of brain amyloid burden when in vivo imaging is not feasible

Micromechanical study of the load transfer in a polycaprolactone-collagen hybrid scaffold when subjected to unconfined and confined compression

Scaffolds are used in diverse tissue engineering applications as hosts for cell proliferation and extracellular matrix formation. One of the most used tissue engineering materials is collagen, which is well known to be a natural biomaterial, also frequently used as cell substrate, given its natural abundance and intrinsic biocompatibility. This study aims to evaluate how the macroscopic biomechanical stimuli applied on a construct made of polycaprolactone scaffold embedded in a collagen substrate translate into microscopic stimuli at the cell level. Eight poro-hyperelastic finite element models of 3D printed hybrid scaffolds from the same batch were created, along with an equivalent model of the idealized geometry of that scaffold. When applying an 8% confined compression at the macroscopic level, local fluid flow of up to 20 [Formula: see text]m/s and octahedral strain levels mostly under 20% were calculated in the collagen substrate. Conversely unconfined compression induced fluid flow of up to 10 [Formula: see text]m/s and octahedral strain from 10 to 35%. No relevant differences were found amongst the scaffold-specific models. Following the mechanoregulation theory based on Prendergast et al. (J Biomech 30:539-548, 1997. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9290(96)00140-6 ), those results suggest that mainly cartilage or fibrous tissue formation would be expected to occur under unconfined or confined compression, respectively. This in silico study helps to quantify the microscopic stimuli that are present within the collagen substrate and that will affect cell response under in vitro bioreactor mechanical stimulation or even after implantation

Dynamics of the MRSA Population in a Chilean Hospital: a Phylogenomic Analysis (2000-2016)

La diseminación mundial de Staphylococcus aureus resistente a meticilina (SARM) está asociada a la aparición y el establecimiento de clones en zonas geográficas específicas. El clon chileno-cordobés (ChC) (ST5-SCCmecI) ha sido el clon de SARM predominante en Chile desde su primera descripción en 1998, a pesar del informe de otros clones de SARM emergentes en los últimos años. Aquí, caracterizamos la historia evolutiva de MRSA desde 2000 hasta 2016 en un centro de salud terciario chileno utilizando análisis filogenómicos. Secuenciamos 469 aislamientos de SARM recogidos entre 2000 y 2016. Evaluamos las tendencias temporales de los clones circulantes y realizamos una reconstrucción filogenómica para caracterizar la dinámica clonal. Encontramos un aumento significativo en la diversidad y riqueza de tipos de secuencia (STs; Spearman r = 0,8748, P , 0,0001) con un índice de diversidad de Shannon que aumentó de 0,221 en el año 2000 a 1,33 en 2016, y una diversidad efectiva (número de Hill; q = 2) que aumentó de 1,12 a 2,71. El análisis de la tendencia temporal reveló que en el periodo de 2000 a 2003 la mayoría de los aislados (94,2%; n = 98) pertenecían al clon ChC. Sin embargo, desde entonces, la frecuencia del clon ChC ha disminuido con el tiempo, representando el 52% de la colección en el período de 2013 a 2016. Este descenso estuvo acompañado por el aumento de dos linajes emergentes de SARM, ST105-SCCmecII y ST72-SCCmecVI. En conclusión, el clon ChC sigue siendo el linaje MRSA más frecuente, pero este linaje está siendo reemplazado gradualmente por varios clones emergentes, el más importante de los cuales es el clon ST105-SCCmecII. Hasta donde sabemos, éste es el mayor estudio de la dinámica clonal del SARM realizado en Sudamérica. © 2023 Martínez et al.The global dissemination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with the emergence and establishment of clones in specific geographic areas. The Chilean-Cordobes clone (ChC) (ST5-SCCmecI) has been the predominant MRSA clone in Chile since its first description in 1998, despite the report of other emerging MRSA clones in recent years. Here, we characterize the evolutionary history of MRSA from 2000 to 2016 in a Chilean tertiary health care center using phylogenomic analyses. We sequenced 469 MRSA isolates collected between 2000 and 2016. We evaluated the temporal trends of the circulating clones and performed a phylogenomic reconstruction to characterize the clonal dynamics. We found a significant increase in the diversity and richness of sequence types (STs; Spearman r = 0.8748, P , 0.0001) with a Shannon diversity index increasing from 0.221 in the year 2000 to 1.33 in 2016, and an effective diversity (Hill number; q = 2) increasing from 1.12 to 2.71. The temporal trend analysis revealed that in the period 2000 to 2003 most of the isolates (94.2%; n = 98) belonged to the ChC clone. However, since then, the frequency of the ChC clone has decreased over time, accounting for 52% of the collection in the 2013 to 2016 period. This decline was accompanied by the rise of two emerging MRSA lineages, ST105-SCCmecII and ST72-SCCmecVI. In conclusion, the ChC clone remains the most frequent MRSA lineage, but this lineage is gradually being replaced by several emerging clones, the most important of which is clone ST105-SCCmecII. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest study of MRSA clonal dynamics performed in South America. © 2023 Martínez et al

Dynamics of the Mrsa Population in a Chilean Hospital: a Phylogenomic analysis (2000-2016)

The global dissemination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with the emergence and establishment of clones in specific geographic areas. The Chilean-Cordobes clone (ChC) (ST5-SCCmecI) has been the predominant MRSA clone in Chile since its first description in 1998, despite the report of other emerging MRSA clones in recent years. Here, we characterize the evolutionary history of MRSA from 2000 to 2016 in a Chilean tertiary health care center using phylogenomic analyses. We sequenced 469 MRSA isolates collected between 2000 and 2016. We evaluated the temporal trends of the circulating clones and performed a phylogenomic reconstruction to characterize the clonal dynamics. We found a significant increase in the diversity and richness of sequence types (STs; Spearman r = 0.8748, P \u3c 0.0001) with a Shannon diversity index increasing from 0.221 in the year 2000 to 1.33 in 2016, and an effective diversity (Hill number; q = 2) increasing from 1.12 to 2.71. The temporal trend analysis revealed that in the period 2000 to 2003 most of the isolates (94.2%; n = 98) belonged to the ChC clone. However, since then, the frequency of the ChC clone has decreased over time, accounting for 52% of the collection in the 2013 to 2016 period. This decline was accompanied by the rise of two emerging MRSA lineages, ST105-SCCmecII and ST72-SCCmecVI. In conclusion, the ChC clone remains the most frequent MRSA lineage, but this lineage is gradually being replaced by several emerging clones, the most important of which is clone ST105-SCCmecII. to the best of our knowledge, this is the largest study of MRSA clonal dynamics performed in South America. IMPORTANCE Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major public health pathogen that disseminates through the emergence of successful dominant clones in specific geographic regions. Knowledge of the dissemination and molecular epidemiology of MRSA in Latin America is scarce and is largely based on small studies or more limited typing techniques that lack the resolution to represent an accurate description of the genomic landscape. We used whole-genome sequencing to study 469 MRSA isolates collected between 2000 and 2016 in Chile providing the largest and most detailed study of clonal dynamics of MRSA in South America to date. We found a significant increase in the diversity of MRSA clones circulating over the 17-year study period. Additionally, we describe the emergence of two novel clones (ST105-SCCmecII and ST72-SCCmecVI), which have been gradually increasing in frequency over time. Our results drastically improve our understanding of the dissemination and update our knowledge about MRSA in Latin America