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The results are presented of an experiment designed to demonstrate anomalous dispersion in a modified Belousov-Zhabotinsky system.

Rationale and Objectives: Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and gated 13N-ammonia positron emission tomography myocardial perfusion imaging (PET-MPI) offer accurate and highly comparable global left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) measurements. In addition to accuracy, however, reproducibility is crucial to avoid variations in LVEF assessment potentially negatively impacting treatment decisions. We performed a head-to-head comparison of the reproducibility of LVEF measurements derived from simultaneously acquired CMR and PET-MPI using different state-of-the-art commercially available software., Materials and Methods: 93 patients undergoing hybrid PET/MR were retrospectively included. LVEF was derived from CMR and PET-MPI at two separate core labs, using two state-of-the-art software packages for CMR (cvi42 and Medis Suite MR) and PET (QPET and CardIQ Physio). Intra- and inter-reader agreement was assessed using correlation and Bland-Altman (BA) analyses., Results: While intra- and inter-reader reproducibility of LVEF was high among both modalities and all software packages (r ≥ 0.87 and ICC≥0.91, all significant at p < 0.0001), LVEF derived from PET-MPI and analyzed with QPET outperformed all other analyses (intra-reader reproducibility: r = 0.99, ICC=0.99; inter-reader reproducibility: r = 0.98, ICC=1.00; Pearson correlations significantly higher than all others at p ≤ 0.0001). BA analyses showed smaller biases for LVEF derived from PET-MPI (-0.1% and +0.9% for intra-reader, -0.4% and -0.8% for inter-reader agreement) than those derived from CMR (+0.7% and +2.8% for intra-reader, -0.9% and -2.2% for inter-reader agreement) with similar results for BA limits of agreement., Conclusion: Gated 13N-ammonia PET-MPI provides equivalent reproducibility of LVEF compared to CMR. It may offer a valid alternative to CMR for patients requiring LV functional assessment., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships, which may be considered as potential competing interests: The University Hospital of Zurich holds a research agreement with GE Healthcare. RR Buechel has received funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation as well as speaker honoraria from Pfizer, Gilead, IBA, and GE Healthcare, outside of the submitted work. C Gräni received funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation, InnoSuisse, CAIM foundation and GAMBIT foundation, outside of the submitted work. The other authors have no relevant competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2024 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a new disease associated with a recent infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Affected children can present predominantly with abdominal symptoms, fever and high inflammatory parameters that might lead to a consult by the pediatric surgeon and an indication for surgery., Methods: clinical data of three patients with MIS-C that underwent surgery were collected. Histopathological analysis of the appendix was performed., Results: we present the clinical course of three children with fever, abdominal pain and vomiting for several days. Clinical examination and highly elevated inflammation markers led to indication for laparoscopy; appendectomy was performed in two patients. Because of intraoperative findings or due to lack of postoperative improvement, all patients were reevaluated and tested positive for MIS-C associated laboratory parameters and were subsequently treated with corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulins, acetyl salicylic acid and/or light molecular weight heparin., Conclusions: we discuss the implications of MIS-C as a new differential diagnosis and stress the importance of assessing the previous medical history, identifying patterns of symptoms and critically surveilling the clinical course. We implemented an algorithm for pediatric surgeons to consider MIS-C as a differential diagnosis for acute abdomen that can be integrated into the surgical workflow.

Background: Acute hematogenous osteomyelitis (OM) and septic arthritis require immediate diagnosis and treatment by an interdisciplinary team of pediatric infectious disease specialists and pediatric orthopedic surgeons. Adverse outcomes such as growth disturbance, bone deformity, and chronic infections have been described in older studies. However, there is only little known about long-term follow-up of patients of the last two decades. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate subjective and objective long-term outcomes of these children with osteoarticular infections treated in the millennial years. Methods: Cross-sectional study performed in two pediatric centers including patients admitted for OM and/or SA between 2005 and 2014 and follow-up consultations in 2019. Patients with symptoms of ≤2 weeks duration at initial presentation were contacted. Subjective outcomes were assessed by standardized interview, objective outcomes by clinical examination. Medical charts were used to extract data from the initial presentations. Statistical analysis was performed by non-parametric tests and Fisher's exact test. Results: Of 147 eligible patients 77 (52%) agreed to participate, of which 68 (88%) had an interview and physical examination and 9 (12%) an interview only. Thirty-three (39%) had OM, 26 (34%) SA, and 21 (27%) combined OM/SA. Median (IQR) age at follow-up was 13.3 (10.5-18.0) years with a median (IQR) follow-up of 7.1 (6.1-8.6) years. Persistent complaints including pain, functional differences and scar paresthesia, reported by 21 (28%) patients, were generally mild and only 3 (5%) required ongoing medical care. Objective sequelae including pain, limited range of motion, unilateral axis deformity or asymmetric gait were found in 8 (12%) participants. Older age, female sex, joint involvement, surgical intervention, persistent fever, and C-reactive protein elevation were associated with adverse clinical outcome. Conclusions: Adverse outcomes were observed in a considerable number of patients, most of which were minor, and only few required ongoing medical care. Long-term follow up is advisable for patients with risk factors identified during the initial presentation. This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03827980)., (Copyright © 2020 Manz, Krieg, Buettcher, Ritz and Heininger.)

Background: Individuals at high risk to develop alcoholism often manifest neurocognitive deficits as well as increased impulsivity. Event-related oscillations (EROs) have been used to effectively measure brain (dys)function during cognitive tasks in individuals with alcoholism and related disorders and in those at risk to develop these disorders. The current study examines ERO theta power during reward processing as well as impulsivity in adolescent and young adult subjects at high risk for alcoholism., Methods: EROs were recorded during a monetary gambling task (MGT) in 12-25 years old participants (N = 1821; males = 48%) from high risk alcoholic families (HR, N = 1534) and comparison low risk community families (LR, N = 287) from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA). Impulsivity scores and prevalence of externalizing diagnoses were also compared between LR and HR groups., Results: HR offspring showed lower theta power and decreased current source density (CSD) activity than LR offspring during loss and gain conditions. Younger males had higher theta power than younger females in both groups, while the older HR females showed more theta power than older HR males. Younger subjects showed higher theta power than older subjects in each comparison. Differences in topography (i.e., frontalization) between groups were also observed. Further, HR subjects across gender had higher impulsivity scores and increased prevalence of externalizing disorders compared to LR subjects., Conclusions: As theta power during reward processing is found to be lower not only in alcoholics, but also in HR subjects, it is proposed that reduced reward-related theta power, in addition to impulsivity and externalizing features, may be related in a predisposition to develop alcoholism and related disorders.

Discrete time survival analysis was used to assess the age-specific association of event-related oscillations (EROs) and CHRM2 gene variants on the onset of regular alcohol use and alcohol dependence. The subjects were 2,938 adolescents and young adults ages 12-25. Results showed that the CHRM2 gene variants and ERO risk factors had hazards which varied considerably with age. The bulk of the significant age-specific associations occurred in those whose age of onset was under 16. These associations were concentrated in those subjects who at some time took an illicit drug. These results are consistent with studies which associate greater rates of alcohol dependence among those who begin drinking at an early age. The age specificity of the genetic and neurophysiological factors is consistent with recent studies of adolescent brain development, which locate an interval of heightened vulnerability to substance use disorders in the early to mid teens.

Event-related oscillations (EROs) represent highly heritable neuroelectric correlates of cognitive processes that manifest deficits in alcoholics and in offspring at high risk to develop alcoholism. Theta ERO to targets in the visual oddball task has been shown to be an endophenotype for alcoholism. A family-based genome-wide association study was performed for the frontal theta ERO phenotype using 634 583 autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped in 1560 family members from 117 families densely affected by alcohol use disorders, recruited in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. Genome-wide significant association was found with several SNPs on chromosome 21 in KCNJ6 (a potassium inward rectifier channel; KIR3.2/GIRK2), with the most significant SNP at P = 4.7 × 10(-10)). The same SNPs were also associated with EROs from central and parietal electrodes, but with less significance, suggesting that the association is frontally focused. One imputed synonymous SNP in exon four, highly correlated with our top three SNPs, was significantly associated with the frontal theta ERO phenotype. These results suggest KCNJ6 or its product GIRK2 account for some of the variations in frontal theta band oscillations. GIRK2 receptor activation contributes to slow inhibitory postsynaptic potentials that modulate neuronal excitability, and therefore influence neuronal networks., (© 2012 The Authors. Genes, Brain and Behavior © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society.)

Recent studies have linked alcoholism with a dysfunctional neural reward system. Although several electrophysiological studies have explored reward processing in healthy individuals, such studies in alcohol-dependent individuals are quite rare. The present study examines theta oscillations during reward processing in abstinent alcoholics. The electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in 38 abstinent alcoholics and 38 healthy controls as they performed a single outcome gambling task, which involved outcomes of either loss or gain of an amount (10 or 50¢) that was bet. Event-related theta band (3.0-7.0 Hz) power following each outcome stimulus was computed using the S-transform method. Theta power at the time window of the outcome-related negativity (ORN) and positivity (ORP) (200-500 ms) was compared across groups and outcome conditions. Additionally, behavioral data of impulsivity and task performance were analyzed. The alcoholic group showed significantly decreased theta power during reward processing compared to controls. Current source density (CSD) maps of alcoholics revealed weaker and diffuse source activity for all conditions and weaker bilateral prefrontal sources during the Loss 50 condition when compared with controls who manifested stronger and focused midline sources. Furthermore, alcoholics exhibited increased impulsivity and risk-taking on the behavioral measures. A strong association between reduced anterior theta power and impulsive task-performance was observed. It is suggested that decreased power and weaker and diffuse CSD in alcoholics may be due to dysfunctional neural reward circuitry. The relationship among alcoholism, theta oscillations, reward processing, and impulsivity could offer clues to understand brain circuitries that mediate reward processing and inhibitory control., (Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Several genome-wide association and candidate gene studies have linked chromosome 15q24-q25.1 (a region including the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 gene cluster) with alcohol dependence, nicotine dependence and smoking-related illnesses such as lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. To further examine the impact of these genes on the development of substance use disorders, we tested whether variants within and flanking the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 gene cluster affect the transition to daily smoking (individuals who smoked cigarettes 4 or more days per week) in a cross sectional sample of adolescents and young adults from the COGA (Collaborative Study of the Genetics of Alcoholism) families. Subjects were recruited from families affected with alcoholism (either as a first or second degree relative) and the comparison families. Participants completed the SSAGA interview, a comprehensive assessment of alcohol and other substance use and related behaviors. Using the Quantitative trait disequilibrium test (QTDT) significant association was detected between age at onset of daily smoking and variants located upstream of CHRNB4. Multivariate analysis using a Cox proportional hazards model further revealed that these variants significantly predict the age at onset of habitual smoking among daily smokers. These variants were not in high linkage disequilibrium (0.28

We have analyzed the protein content of proximal tubular fluid (PTF) by ultramicro disc electrophoresis and measured total protein excretion rates both in control conditions and during angiotensin infusion to the rat. Under control conditions PTF albumin concentration was 1.49 +/- 1.12 (SD) mg/100 ml and did not increase with distance from the glomerulus. Immediate postcapsular samples (Munich-Wistar strain) yielded nearly identical values so that both probably represent filtered albumin concentration. During infusion of angiotensin (0.15 mug/mix x 100 g of body wt), PTF albumin concentration increased on the average 26-fold in re-collections from control tubules. Total protein excretion increased from a control of 7.91 to 24.37 mg/24 hr x 100 g of body wt. Glomerular filtration rate (FGR), single nephron GFR (SNGFR), proximal transit time and tubular fluid to plasma (tf/p) inulin values did not change significantly. Net afferent filtration pressure decreased from 24.7 to 15.6 mm Hg and renal plasma flow fell from 2.16 to 1.31 mo/min x g of kidney wt. Data describe a protein reabsorptive system normally operating near capacity. Angiotensin-induced proteinuria derives from an increase in filtered protein (mostly albumin) resulting from permeability changes in the glomerular membrane.