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Aside from some exceptions, songbird species differ in the structure of their singing and usually also in the size and performance mode their song repertoires. In the past, most studies concentrated on the species specific differences of singing, and thereby contributed to a better understanding of their diversity. In our approach, however, we focussed on the opposite perspective; i.e. we investigated whether and how far songbirds share structural song properties. To have a solid data base we focussed on four species of thrushes which were famous for their large vocal repertoires. The two Asian bird species were Oriental Magpie Robins (Copsychus saularis) and Shama Thrushes (Copsychus malabaricus), the two European species the Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) and the Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia luscinia). The latter were incorporated into a sample 40 other European songbird species (Table 1) serving as a framework for our comparative approach (Figure 2, 4). Besides well-known differences among species, our analyses of song material yielded some remarkably similar relationships between structural and functional song properties, which often were shared even by unrelated species. In particular measures of song durations were usually related to song application during vocal interaction. And, individual variation of song duration was mainly a result of differences in syllable repetition within trilled song sections. Although some of these findings were predicted already by former studies (see Todt, 2004), their essentials can be based now on profound data sets of detailed measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess tablet utilization patterns and describe pre-treatment characteristics among new users of rimegepant., Background: Rimegepant is the only oral calcitonin gene-related peptide antagonist approved in the United States for both the acute and preventive treatment of migraine., Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of people with migraine who initiated treatment with rimegepant using two US commercial claims databases (MarketScan and Optum). Patients (≥18 years old) with migraine who newly initiated rimegepant were included. Patients were stratified into two groups representing acute (quantity = 8) and prevention (quantity = 15 or 16) use cohorts. Baseline characteristics and medication use history were assessed on index and during the 365-day pre-index period. Rimegepant utilization periods were calculated based on days supplied and varying approaches to define use periods. Tablet quantity per 30 days was reported separately for both acute and prevention cohorts., Results: In MarketScan, a total of 14,037 rimegepant users were identified; 11,195 (79.8%) in the acute group and 1,880 (13.4%) in the prevention group. Rimegepant utilization for acute use was 4.9 ± 2.1 tablets per 30 days and for preventive use was 13.1 ± 7.7 tablets per 30 days. There was high baseline prevalence of triptan contraindications, warnings, and high cardiovascular risk, with a combined 46.2% meeting one or more of these criteria. Acute medication overuse was also common (25.1%) prior to rimegepant initiation. Results were consistent in the Optum database., Conclusion: Our analysis provides the first real-world data available on tablet utilization and characteristics of new users of rimegepant.

Background: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) intervention is an established prophylactic measure. Identifying high-benefit patients poses challenges., Purpose: To assess the prognostic value of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters including myocardial deformation for risk stratification of ICD intervention in non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) while accounting for competing mortality risk., Study Type: Retrospective and prospective., Population: One hundred and fifty-nine NICM patients eligible for primary ICD (117 male, 54 ± 13 years) and 49 control subjects (38 male, 53 ± 5 years)., Field Strength/sequence: Balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP) and three-dimensional phase-sensitive inversion-recovery late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) sequences at 1.5 T or 3 T., Assessment: Patients underwent MRI before ICD implantation and were followed up. Functional parameters, left ventricular global radial, circumferential and longitudinal strain, right ventricular free wall longitudinal strain (RV FWLS) and left atrial strain were measured (Circle, cvi42). LGE presence was assessed visually. The primary endpoint was appropriate ICD intervention. Models were developed to determine outcome, with and without accounting for competing risk (non-sudden cardiac death), and compared to a baseline model including LGE and clinical features., Statistical Tests: Wilcoxon non-parametric test, Cox's proportional hazards regression, Fine-Gray competing risk model, and cumulative incidence functions. Harrell's c statistic was used for model selection. A P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: Follow-up duration was 1176 ± 960 days (median: 896). Twenty-six patients (16%) met the primary endpoint. RV FWLS demonstrated a significant difference between patients with and without events (-12.5% ± 5 vs. -16.4% ± 5.5). Univariable analyses showed LGE and RV FWLS were significantly associated with outcome (LGE: hazard ratio [HR] = 3.69, 95% CI = 1.28-10.62; RV FWLS: HR = 2.04, 95% CI = 1.30-3.22). RV FWLS significantly improved the prognostic value of baseline model and remained significant in multivariable analysis, accounting for competing risk (HR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.12-2.66)., Data Conclusions: In NICM, RV FWLS may provide additional predictive value for predicting appropriate ICD intervention., Level of Evidence: 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 5., (© 2024 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.)

The use of the endoscopic hemostatic powder TC-325 as a rescue monotherapy or as an adjunct agent in achieving hemostasis has been studied in upper gastrointestinal variceal bleeds and nonvariceal lower gastrointestinal bleeds with promising results. In this report, we describe a case of a successful use of TC-325 as rescue monotherapy to manage rectal variceal bleeding in a patient with alcohol-related cirrhosis with no report of bleeding recurrence and no side effects within the first 7 days, 30 days, or 6 months., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The American College of Gastroenterology.)

Background: In cardiac T 1 mapping, a series of T 1 -weighted (T 1 w) images are collected and numerically fitted to a two or three-parameter model of the signal recovery to estimate voxel-wise T 1 values. To reduce the scan time, one can collect fewer T 1 w images, albeit at the cost of precision or/and accuracy. Recently, the feasibility of using a neural network instead of conventional two- or three-parameter fit modeling has been demonstrated. However, prior studies used data from a single vendor and field strength; therefore, the generalizability of the models has not been established., Purpose: To develop and evaluate an accelerated cardiac T 1 mapping approach based on MyoMapNet, a convolution neural network T 1 estimator that can be used across different vendors and field strengths by incorporating the relevant scanner information as additional inputs to the model., Study Type: Retrospective, multicenter., Population: A total of 1423 patients with known or suspected cardiac disease (808 male, 57 ± 16 years), from three centers, two vendors (Siemens, Philips), and two field strengths (1.5 T, 3 T). The data were randomly split into 60% training, 20% validation, and 20% testing., Field Strength/sequence: A 1.5 T and 3 T, Modified Look-Locker inversion recovery (MOLLI) for native and postcontrast T 1 ., Assessment: Scanner-independent MyoMapNet (SI-MyoMapNet) was developed by altering the deep learning (DL) architecture of MyoMapNet to incorporate scanner vendor and field strength as inputs. Epicardial and endocardial contours and blood pool (by manually drawing a large region of interest in the blood pool) of the left ventricle were manually delineated by three readers, with 2, 8, and 9 years of experience, and SI-MyoMapNet myocardial and blood pool T 1 values (calculated from four T 1 w images) were compared with conventional MOLLI T 1 values (calculated from 8 to 11 T 1 w images)., Statistical Tests: Equivalency test with 95% confidence interval (CI), linear regression slope, Pearson correlation coefficient (r), Bland-Altman analysis., Results: The proposed SI-MyoMapNet successfully created T 1 maps. Native and postcontrast T 1 values measured from SI-MyoMapNet were strongly correlated with MOLLI, despite using only four T 1 w images, at both field-strengths and vendors (all r > 0.86). For native T 1 , SI-MyoMapNet and MOLLI were in good agreement for myocardial and blood T 1 values in institution 1 (myocardium: 5 msec, 95% CI [3, 8]; blood: -10 msec, 95%CI [-16, -4]), in institution 2 (myocardium: 6 msec, 95% CI [0, 11]; blood: 0 msec, [-18, 17]), and in institution 3 (myocardium: 7 msec, 95% CI [-8, 22]; blood: 8 msec, [-14, 30]). Similar results were observed for postcontrast T 1 ., Data Conclusion: Inclusion of field strength and vendor as additional inputs to the DL architecture allows generalizability of MyoMapNet across different vendors or field strength., Evidence Level: 2., Technical Efficacy: Stage 2., (© 2023 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.)

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies typically focus on suprathreshold motor evoked potentials (MEPs), overlooking small MEPs representing subthreshold corticomotor pathway activation. Assessing subthreshold excitability could provide insights into corticomotor pathway integrity and function, particularly in neurological conditions like stroke. The aim of the study was to examine the test-retest reliability of metrics derived from a novel compositional analysis of MEP data from older adults. The study also compared the composition between the dominant (D) and non-dominant (ND) sides and explored the association between subthreshold responses and resting motor threshold. In this proof-of-concept study, 23 healthy older adults participated in two identical experimental sessions. Stimulus-response (S-R) curves and threshold matrices were constructed using single-pulse TMS across intensities to obtain MEPs in four upper limb muscles. S-R curves had reliable slopes for every muscle (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient range = 0.58-0.88). Subliminal and suprathreshold elements of the threshold matrix showed good-excellent reliability (D subliminal ICC = 0.83; ND subliminal ICC = 0.79; D suprathreshold ICC = 0.92; ND suprathreshold ICC = 0.94). By contrast, subthreshold elements of the matrix showed poor reliability, presumably due to a floor effect (D subthreshold ICC = 0.39; ND subthreshold ICC = 0.05). No composition differences were found between D and ND sides (suprathreshold BF 01  = 3.85; subthreshold BF 01  = 1.68; subliminal BF 01  = 3.49). The threshold matrix reliably assesses subliminal and suprathreshold MEPs in older adults. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the utility of compositional analyses for assessing recovery of corticomotor pathway function after neurological injury., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Selective response inhibition may be required when stopping a part of a multicomponent action. A persistent response delay (stopping-interference effect) indicates nonselective response inhibition during selective stopping. This study aimed to elucidate whether nonselective response inhibition is the consequence of a global pause process during attentional capture or specific to a nonselective cancel process during selective stopping. Twenty healthy human participants performed a bimanual anticipatory response inhibition paradigm with selective stop and ignore signals. Frontocentral and sensorimotor beta-bursts were recorded with electroencephalography. Corticomotor excitability and short-interval intracortical inhibition in primary motor cortex were recorded with transcranial magnetic stimulation. Behaviorally, responses in the non-signaled hand were delayed during selective ignore and stop trials. The response delay was largest during selective stop trials and indicated that stopping-interference could not be attributed entirely to attentional capture. A stimulus-nonselective increase in frontocentral beta-bursts occurred during stop and ignore trials. Sensorimotor response inhibition was reflected in maintenance of beta-bursts and short-interval intracortical inhibition relative to disinhibition observed during go trials. Response inhibition signatures were not associated with the magnitude of stopping-interference. Therefore, nonselective response inhibition during selective stopping results primarily from a nonselective pause process but does not entirely account for the stopping-interference effect., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permission@oup.com.)

Background Cardiac cine can benefit from deep learning-based image reconstruction to reduce scan time and/or increase spatial and temporal resolution. Purpose To develop and evaluate a deep learning model that can be combined with parallel imaging or compressed sensing (CS). Materials and Methods The deep learning model was built on the enhanced super-resolution generative adversarial inline neural network, trained with use of retrospectively identified cine images and evaluated in participants prospectively enrolled from September 2021 to September 2022. The model was applied to breath-hold electrocardiography (ECG)-gated segmented and free-breathing real-time cine images collected with reduced spatial resolution with use of generalized autocalibrating partially parallel acquisitions (GRAPPA) or CS. The deep learning model subsequently restored spatial resolution. For comparison, GRAPPA-accelerated cine images were collected. Diagnostic quality and artifacts were evaluated by two readers with use of Likert scales and compared with use of Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Agreement for left ventricle (LV) function, volume, and strain was assessed with Bland-Altman analysis. Results The deep learning model was trained on 1616 patients (mean age ± SD, 56 years ± 16; 920 men) and evaluated in 181 individuals, 126 patients (mean age, 57 years ± 16; 77 men) and 55 healthy subjects (mean age, 27 years ± 10; 15 men). In breath-hold ECG-gated segmented cine and free-breathing real-time cine, the deep learning model and GRAPPA showed similar diagnostic quality scores (2.9 vs 2.9, P = .41, deep learning vs GRAPPA) and artifact score (4.4 vs 4.3, P = .55, deep learning vs GRAPPA). Deep learning acquired more sections per breath-hold than GRAPPA (3.1 vs one section, P < .001). In free-breathing real-time cine, the deep learning showed a similar diagnostic quality score (2.9 vs 2.9, P = .21, deep learning vs GRAPPA) and lower artifact score (3.9 vs 4.3, P < .001, deep learning vs GRAPPA). For both sequences, the deep learning model showed excellent agreement for LV parameters, with near-zero mean differences and narrow limits of agreement compared with GRAPPA. Conclusion Deep learning-accelerated cardiac cine showed similarly accurate quantification of cardiac function, volume, and strain to a standardized parallel imaging method. © RSNA, 2023 Supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Vannier and Wang in this issue.