Search

Background To evaluate the imaging findings of biliary complications in patients with ABO-incompatible (ABOi) living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), with emphasis on ultrasound and magnetic resonance cholangiography results, and to evaluate clinical outcomes Methods The hospital’s Institutional Review Committee on Human Research approved the study protocol, and all of the participants or their guardians provided written informed consent. We performed a retrospective analysis of 33 patients with ABOi LDLT from December 2009 to April 2018 enrolled in the study. After LDLT, patients were followed up daily during the admission period and every visit to the outpatient clinic following discharge. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) was scheduled if ultrasound imaging results or clinical presentation suggested biliary complications. The types of biliary complications on MRCP were classified into nonanastomosis and anastomotic stenosis. Different interventions were arranged according to clinical conditions. Results Of 33 patients enrolled, 4 patients were found to have abnormal ultrasound findings (12%), 10 patients had elevated liver function (30%), and 1 showed both of them (3%). Fifteen patients received MRCP in the study. Nonanastomosis strictures were found in 5 patients who received different treatment according to clinical conditions, and anastomosis strictures were found in 7 patients who received endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage treatment only. The diagnosis accuracy percentages of biliary complications by ultrasound and MRCP were 66% and 100%, respectively. Conclusion Doppler ultrasound could made a misdiagnosis in biliary complications. Magnetic resonance cholangiography is necessary if we suspect biliary complications. In addition, the differential diagnosis of biliary complications is mandatory for interventional procedures.

Background: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) treatment for benign thyroid nodules (BTNs) in five medical centers in Taiwan. Methods: From April 2016 to July 2020, 762 patients underwent ultrasound guided RFA treatment of 826 benign thyroid nodules at five medical centers in Taiwan. The RFA procedure was performed by radiologists, otolaryngologists, or surgeons. Patients were grouped into three subgroups according to the initial volume of BTNs. The volume reduction ratio (VRR) of each nodule, and complications were analyzed at 1, 3, and 6 months after RFA treatment and the three groups compared. Results: The large nodular group showed greater VRR compared to the other two groups at first 1-month follow-up. At 6-months follow-up, there was no significant difference of VRR among the three groups. Goiters with difference in size can attain a successful VRR (>50%) although different specialists demonstrated variable VRR after 6-months follow-up. A total of 40 (4.8%) complications were reported. All patients recovered spontaneously without surgery intervention. Conclusions: The reliability and safety of RFA for benign thyroid nodules had been established. RFA has gradually become an alternative to surgery in the treatment of benign thyroid nodules in Taiwan.

(1) Background: The Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) is a standardized scoring tool used to evaluate the severity of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) on non-contrast CT (NCCT). Our aim in this study was to automate ASPECTS. (2) Methods: We utilized a total of 258 patient images with suspected AIS symptoms. Expert ASPECTS readings on NCCT were used as ground truths. A deep learning-based automatic detection (DLAD) algorithm was developed for automated ASPECTS scoring based on 168 training patient images using a convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture. An additional 90 testing patient images were used to evaluate the performance of the DLAD algorithm, which was then compared with ASPECTS readings on NCCT as performed by physicians. (3) Results: The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of DLAD for the prediction of ASPECTS were 65%, 82%, and 80%, respectively. These results demonstrate that the DLAD algorithm was not inferior to radiologist-read ASPECTS on NCCT. With the assistance of DLAD, the individual sensitivity of the ER physician, neurologist, and radiologist improved. (4) Conclusion: The proposed DLAD algorithm exhibits a reasonable ability for ASPECTS scoring on NCCT images in patients presenting with AIS symptoms. The DLAD algorithm could be a valuable tool to improve and accelerate the decision-making process of front-line physicians.

Background: Sarcopenia is critically associated with morbidity and mortality in the progression of Parkinson&rsquo, s disease (PD). However, analyses of clinical severity and brain changes, such as white matter (WM) alterations in PD patients with sarcopenia are limited. Further understanding of the factors associated with sarcopenia may provide a focused screen and potential for early intervention in PD patients. Methods: 52 PD patients and 19 healthy participants accepted dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure the body composition. Using diffusion tensor imaging, the difference of WM integrity was measured between PD patients with sarcopenia (PDSa) and without sarcopenia (PDNSa). Multivariate analysis was performed to explore the relationships between clinical factors, WM integrity, and sarcopenia in PD patients. Results: 21 PD patients (40.4%) had sarcopenia. PDSa had a higher Unified Parkinson&rsquo, s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS III) score, lower body mass index (BMI) and lower fat weight compared with the PDNSa. Additionally, PDSa patients exhibited lower fractional anisotropy accompanied by higher radial diffusivity and/or higher mean diffusivity in the fronto-striato-thalamic circuits, including bilateral cingulum, left superior longitudinal fasciculus, left genu of corpus callosum, and right anterior thalamic radiation, which participate in the executive function. In addition, decreased muscle mass was associated with worse WM integrity in these regions. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that WM integrity in the left cingulum, right anterior thalamic radiation, together with gender (male) significantly predicted muscle mass in PD patients. Conclusions: WM alterations in the executive network, such as the fronto-striato-thalamic circuits, may indicate a risk factor for ongoing sarcopenia in PD patients. The effectiveness of using executive function to serve as a prodromal marker of sarcopenia in PD patients should be evaluated in future studies.

Background: To investigate the relationship between fat content and the cross-sectional area of psoas and thigh muscles, and clinical severity in patients with Parkinson&rsquo, s disease. Materials and Methods: Twenty-five patients and 20 age- and sex-matched normal controls were recruited. All subjects underwent MRI study to determine the fat content of the bilateral psoas and thigh muscles. Muscle quality was measured by grasp, walking speed, and cross-sectional area. All patients underwent clinical surveys to evaluate disease severity and frailty, and analyses of the correlations between muscle quality and disease severity were performed. Results: Compared with the controls, patients exhibited higher fatty content in the measured muscles. The higher fat infiltration of measured muscles was significantly correlated with increased disease severity and frailty in patients. The fat fraction of the bilateral medial compartment of the thigh was correlated with the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale-I results and the fat fraction of the bilateral anterior compartment of the thigh was correlated with weakness and exhaustion in patients. Conclusions: Decreased quality in psoas and thigh muscles is prominent in Parkinson&rsquo, s disease which is further associated with disease severity and frailty. Awareness of the risk of sarcopenia and associated sequelae might improve patient care and outcomes.

The harmonious development of ancient city walls in China and their surrounding spatial forms faces a very complicated situation. In this study, the multivariate analysis method is used to coordinate, summarize and analyze the complicated influencing factors for objective data support, providing the objective reference and theoretical pattern to the reasonable protection and sustainable development for ancient city wall and its surrounding space. As a preliminary exploration of the study, this paper aims to establish the overall study framework.

Sound source localization is an important function in robot audition. The existing works perform sound source localization using static microphone arrays. This work proposes a framework that simultaneously localizes the mobile robot and multiple sound sources using a microphone array on the robot. First, an eigenstructure-based generalized cross correlation method for estimating time delays between microphones under multi-source environments is described. A method to compute the far field source directions as well as the speed of sound using the estimated time delays is proposed. In addition, the correctness of the sound speed estimate is utilized to eliminate spurious sources, which greatly enhances the robustness of sound source detection. The arrival angles of the detected sound sources are used as observations in a bearings-only SLAM procedure. As the source signals are not persistent and there is no identification of the signal content, data association is unknown which is solved using FastSLAM. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.

Human detection and tracking is important for user-friendly human-robot interaction. The robot should be able to find the user autonomously and keep its attention to the user in a human-like manner. In this paper, a design and experimental study of robust human detection and tracking is presented through fusion several modalities of sensory information. The multi-modal interaction design utilizes a combination of visual, audio, and laser scanner data for reliable detection and tracking of an interested user. During tracking motion, obstacle avoidance behavior will be activated any time required to ensure safety. Furthermore, user can further assign the robot to interact with other user by speech command. Experimental results show that the robot can robustly tracks person under complex scenarios.

Sound source localization is an important feature in robot audition. This work proposes an eigenstructure-based generalized cross correlation method for estimating time delay between microphones. From experiments, it shows that this method is more robust as compared with conventional GCC using PHAT weighting. By knowing the delays among microphones, both the sound source location and sound speed can be estimated using an array. Further, the correctness of sound speed estimation can be utilized to determine locations of multiple sources. This work derives in detail the method to estimate the directions of dual sources. A digital microphone array and associated acquisition system is developed for conducting the experiment. Experimental results prove the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

A new criterion for optimizing the coefficients of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) decision feedback equalizers (DFE) is proposed for asymmetric signal constellations. It is shown that the new criterion is a generalization of the minimum mean square error (MMSE) criterion. The proposed MIMO DFE can be applied to the equalization of Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK) signals. Simulation results indicate that the proposed method achieves a performance gain of as much as 2 dB without increasing equalization complexity.