Susceptibility weighted imaging in intracranial hemorrhage:not all bleeds are black

To correctly recognize intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and differentiate it from other lesions, knowledge of the imaging characteristics of an ICH on Susceptibility Weighted Imaging (SWI) is essential. It is a common misconception that blood is always black on SWI, and it is important to realize that hemorrhage has a variable appearance in different stages on SWI. Furthermore, the presence of a low signal on SWI does not equal the presence of blood products. In this review the appearance of ICH on SWI during all its stages and common other causes of a low signal on SWI are further discussed and illustrated.</p

The development of PubMed search strategies for patient preferences for treatment outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The importance of respecting patients' preferences when making treatment decisions is increasingly recognized. Efficiently retrieving papers from the scientific literature reporting on the presence and nature of such preferences can help to achieve this goal. The objective of this study was to create a search filter for PubMed to help retrieve evidence on patient preferences for treatment outcomes. METHODS: A total of 27 journals were hand-searched for articles on patient preferences for treatment outcomes published in 2011. Selected articles served as a reference set. To develop optimal search strategies to retrieve this set, all articles in the reference set were randomly split into a development and a validation set. MeSH-terms and keywords retrieved using PubReMiner were tested individually and as combinations in PubMed and evaluated for retrieval performance (e.g. sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp)). RESULTS: Of 8238 articles, 22 were considered to report empirical evidence on patient preferences for specific treatment outcomes. The best search filters reached Se of 100 % [95 % CI 100-100] with Sp of 95 % [94-95 %] and Sp of 97 % [97-98 %] with 75 % Se [74-76 %]. In the validation set these queries reached values of Se of 90 % [89-91 %] with Sp 94 % [93-95 %] and Se of 80 % [79-81 %] with Sp of 97 % [96-96 %], respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Narrow and broad search queries were developed which can help in retrieving literature on patient preferences for treatment outcomes. Identifying such evidence may in turn enhance the incorporation of patient preferences in clinical decision making and health technology assessment

Upper bounds for number of removed edges in the Erased Configuration Model

Models for generating simple graphs are important in the study of real-world complex networks. A well established example of such a model is the erased configuration model, where each node receives a number of half-edges that are connected to half-edges of other nodes at random, and then self-loops are removed and multiple edges are concatenated to make the graph simple. Although asymptotic results for many properties of this model, such as the limiting degree distribution, are known, the exact speed of convergence in terms of the graph sizes remains an open question. We provide a first answer by analyzing the size dependence of the average number of removed edges in the erased configuration model. By combining known upper bounds with a Tauberian Theorem we obtain upper bounds for the number of removed edges, in terms of the size of the graph. Remarkably, when the degree distribution follows a power-law, we observe three scaling regimes, depending on the power law exponent. Our results provide a strong theoretical basis for evaluating finite-size effects in networks

Serum Biomarker Profile Including CCL1, CXCL10, VEGF, and Adenosine Deaminase Activity Distinguishes Active From Remotely Acquired Latent Tuberculosis

INTRODUCTION: There is an urgent medical need to differentiate active tuberculosis (ATB) from latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and prevent undertreatment and overtreatment. The aim of this study was to identify biomarker profiles that may support the differentiation between ATB and LTBI and to validate these signatures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The discovery cohort included adult individuals classified in four groups: ATB (n = 20), LTBI without prophylaxis (untreated LTBI; n = 20), LTBI after completion of prophylaxis (treated LTBI; n = 20), and healthy controls (HC; n = 20). Their sera were analyzed for 40 cytokines/chemokines and activity of adenosine deaminase (ADA) isozymes. A prediction model was designed to differentiate ATB from untreated LTBI using sparse partial least squares (sPLS) and logistic regression analyses. Serum samples of two independent cohorts (national and international) were used for validation. RESULTS: sPLS regression analyses identified C-C motif chemokine ligand 1 (CCL1), C-reactive protein (CRP), C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as the most discriminating biomarkers. These markers and ADA(2) activity were significantly increased in ATB compared to untreated LTBI (p ≤ 0.007). Combining CCL1, CXCL10, VEGF, and ADA2 activity yielded a sensitivity and specificity of 95% and 90%, respectively, in differentiating ATB from untreated LTBI. These findings were confirmed in the validation cohort including remotely acquired untreated LTBI participants. CONCLUSION: The biomarker signature of CCL1, CXCL10, VEGF, and ADA2 activity provides a promising tool for differentiating patients with ATB from non-treated LTBI individuals

RADON: Rational decomposition and orchestration for serverless computing

Emerging serverless computing technologies, such as function as a service (FaaS), enable developers to virtualize the internal logic of an application, simplifying the management of cloud-native services and allowing cost savings through billing and scaling at the level of individual functions. Serverless computing is therefore rapidly shifting the attention of software vendors to the challenge of developing cloud applications deployable on FaaS platforms. In this vision paper, we present the research agenda of the RADON project (http://radon-h2020.eu), which aims to develop a model-driven DevOps framework for creating and managing applications based on serverless computing. RADON applications will consist of fine-grained and independent microservices that can efficiently and optimally exploit FaaS and container technologies. Our methodology strives to tackle complexity in designing such applications, including the solution of optimal decomposition, the reuse of serverless functions as well as the abstraction and actuation of event processing chains, while avoiding cloud vendor lock-in through models

Fasting before living-kidney donation:effect on donor well-being and postoperative recovery: study protocol of a multicenter randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: One of the main effectors on the quality of life of living-kidney donors is postoperative fatigue. Caloric restriction (CR) and short-term fasting (STF) are associated with improved fitness and increased resistance to acute stress. CR/STF increases the expression of cytoprotective genes, increases immunomodulation via increased anti-inflammatory cytokine production, and decreases the expression of pro-inflammatory markers. As such, nutritional preconditioning by CR or STF represents a non-invasive and cost-effective method that could mitigate the effects of acute surgery-induced stress and postoperative fatigue. To investigate whether preoperative STF contributes to a reduction in fatigue after living-kidney donation, a randomized clinical trial is indicated. METHODS: We aim to determine whether 2.5 days of fasting reduces postoperative fatigue score in subjects undergoing living-kidney donation. In this randomized study, the intervention group will follow a preoperative fasting regime for 2.5 days with a low-dose laxative, while the control group will receive standard care. The main study endpoint is postoperative fatigue, 4 weeks after living-kidney donation. Secondary endpoints include the effect of preoperative fasting on postoperative hospital admission time, the feasibility of STF, and the postoperative recovery of donor and recipient kidney function. This study will provide us with knowledge of the feasibility of STF and confirm its effect on postoperative recovery. DISCUSSION: Our study will provide clinically relevant information on the merits of caloric restriction for living-kidney donors and recipients. We expect to reduce the postoperative fatigue in living-kidney donors and improve the postoperative recovery of living-kidney recipients. It will provide evidence on the clinical merits and potential caveats of preoperative dietary interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Netherlands Trial Register NL9262. EudraCT 2020-005445-16. MEC Erasmus MC MEC-2020-0778. CCMO NL74623.078.21 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13063-021-05950-x

Revival of the magnetar PSR J1622-4950: observations with MeerKAT, Parkes, XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR

New radio (MeerKAT and Parkes) and X-ray (XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR) observations of PSR J1622-4950 indicate that the magnetar, in a quiescent state since at least early 2015, reactivated between 2017 March 19 and April 5. The radio flux density, while variable, is approximately 100x larger than during its dormant state. The X-ray flux one month after reactivation was at least 800x larger than during quiescence, and has been decaying exponentially on a 111+/-19 day timescale. This high-flux state, together with a radio-derived rotational ephemeris, enabled for the first time the detection of X-ray pulsations for this magnetar. At 5%, the 0.3-6 keV pulsed fraction is comparable to the smallest observed for magnetars. The overall pulsar geometry inferred from polarized radio emission appears to be broadly consistent with that determined 6-8 years earlier. However, rotating vector model fits suggest that we are now seeing radio emission from a different location in the magnetosphere than previously. This indicates a novel way in which radio emission from magnetars can differ from that of ordinary pulsars. The torque on the neutron star is varying rapidly and unsteadily, as is common for magnetars following outburst, having changed by a factor of 7 within six months of reactivation.Comment: Published in ApJ (2018 April 5); 13 pages, 4 figure

Lipidomics Reveals Multiple Pathway Effects of a Multi-Components Preparation on Lipid Biochemistry in ApoE*3Leiden.CETP Mice

Background: Causes and consequences of the complex changes in lipids occurring in the metabolic syndrome are only partly understood. Several interconnected processes are deteriorating, which implies that multi-target approaches might be more successful than strategies based on a limited number of surrogate markers. Preparations from Chinese Medicine (CM) systems have been handed down with documented clinical features similar as metabolic syndrome, which might help developing new intervention for metabolic syndrome. The progress in systems biology and specific animal models created possibilities to assess the effects of such preparations. Here we report the plasma and liver lipidomics results of the intervention effects of a preparation SUB885C in apolipoprotein E3 Leiden cholesteryl ester transfer protein (ApoE*3Leiden.CETP) mice. SUB885C was developed according to the principles of CM for treatment of metabolic syndrome. The cannabinoid receptor type 1 blocker rimonabant was included as a general control for the evaluation of weight and metabolic responses. Methodology/Principal Findings: ApoE*3Leiden.CETP mice with mild hypercholesterolemia were divided into SUB885C-, rimonabant- and non-treated control groups. SUB885C caused no weight loss, but significantly reduced plasma cholesterol (-49%, p <0.001), CETP levels (-31%,