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Plants represent a great source of medicines, and for their components to be discovered, extraction processes must be developed, especially methods based on green technology. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was employed as a green method for Moringa oleifera extraction in the present investigation. The maximum yield of extraction was obtained at 25 MPa. Moreover, the extraction at 25 MPa induced the release of various phenols and flavonoids, as analyzed via high-performance liquid chromatography. The investigation revealed the concentrations of chlorogenic, gallic, rosmarinic, and coumaric acids to be 150.59, 89.90, 44.75, and 29.41 µg/mL, respectively at 25 MPa. However, their concentrations were 0.73, 1.53, 0.24, and 0.04 µg/mL, respectively at 15 MPa; vs. 4.73, 2.62, 1.06, and 0.50 at 35 MPa, respectively. Totals of saponin, flavonoid, phenolic, tannins, and alkaloid were recorded in maximum yield at 25 MPa. Moringa oleifera extracted at 35 MPa reflected highest inhibition zones of 27 ± 0.1, 30 ± 0.2, and 30 ± 0.1 mm against C. glabrata, C. tropicalis, and C. albicans, correspondingly. α-Amylase and α-glucosidase activities were greatly suppressed by the M. oleifera extract at 25 MPa with less IC50 (12.97 µg/mL and 6.0 µg/mL), than the IC50 (53.46 and 22.02 µg/mL) at 15 MPa, compared with acarbose IC50 (5.52 and 2.64 µg/mL), correspondingly.

Abstract Accurate maps of subsurface tile drainage lines are needed for agronomic and environmental research studies and the maintenance of current tile drainage systems. In this study, tile lines at the Purdue University Agronomy Center for Research and Education near West Lafayette, Indiana were located using a combination of visual aerial photo interpretation, expert knowledge, and paper construction drawings. The mapping accuracy was assessed at 27 locations where tile lines were located physically using a tile probe. Tile lines were correctly predicted 89% of the time with an average spatial accuracy of ±1.23 m of the true tile locations. This approach was better than a previous tile line location map prepared using an automated remote sensing method, which had an average spatial accuracy of ±2.12 m.

Roshanak Shams,1 Hamid Asadzadeh Aghdaei,1 Ali Behmanesh,2 Amir Sadeghi,1 Mohammadareza Zali,1 Sina Salari,3 José M Padrón4 1Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2Student Research Committee, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 3Taleghani Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 4BioLab, Instituto Universitario de Bio-Orgánica “Antonio González” (IUBO-AG), Universidad de la Laguna, La Laguna, SpainCorrespondence: Roshanak Shams; Ali Behmanesh Email shams.rosha.86@gmail.com; aa.behmanesh@gmail.comBackground: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest malignancies and a major health problem worldwide. There were no major advances in conventional treatments in inhibiting tumor progression and increasing patient survival time. In order to suppress mechanisms responsible for tumor cell development such as those with oncogenic roles, more advanced therapeutic strategies should be sought. One of the most important oncogenes of pancreatic cancer is the MYC gene. The overexpression of MYC can activate many tumorigenic processes such as cell proliferation and pancreatic cancer cell invasion. MiRNAs are important molecules that are confirmed by targeting mRNA transcripts to regulate the expression of the MYC gene. Therefore, restoring MYC-repressing miRNAs expression tends to be an effective method of treating MYC-driven cancers.Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify all validated microRNAs targeting C-MYC expression to inhibit PDAC progression by conducting a systematic review.Methods: In this systematic review study, the papers published between 2000 and 2020 in major online scientific databases including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were screened, following inclusion and exclusion criteria. We extracted all the experimental studies that showed miRNAs could target the expression of the MYC gene in PDAC.Results: Eight papers were selected from a total of 89 papers. We found that six miRNAs (Let-7a, miR-145, miR-34a, miR-375, miR-494, and miR-148a) among the selected studies were validated for targeting MYC gene and three of them confirmed Let-7a as a direct MYC expression regulator in PC cells. Finally, we summarized the latest shreds of evidence of experimentally validated miRNAs targeting the MYC gene with respect to PDAC’s therapeutic potential.Conclusion: Restoring the expression of MYC-repressing miRNAs tends to be an effective way to treat MYC-driven cancers such as PDAC. Several miRNAs have been proposed to target this oncogene via bioinformatics tools, but only a few have been experimentally validated for pancreatic cancer cells and models. Further studies should be conducted to find the interaction network of miRNA-MYC to develop more successful therapeutic strategies for PC, using the synergistic effects of these miRNAs.Keywords: micro RNA, pancreatic cancer, MYC, cancer therapy

Soil organic matter content (SOM) and cation exchange capacity (CEC) are important agronomic soil properties. Accurate, high-resolution spatial information of SOM and CEC are needed for precision farm management. The objectives of this study were to: (1) map SOM and CEC in a low relief area using only lidar elevation-based terrain attributes, and (2) compare the prediction accuracy of SOM and CEC maps created by universal kriging, Cubist, and random forest with Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database. For this study, 174 soil samples were collected from a depth from 0 to 10 cm. The topographic wetness index, topographic position index, multi resolution valley bottom flatness, and multi resolution ridge top flatness indices generated from the lidar data were used as covariates in model predictions. No major differences were found in the prediction performance of all selected models. For SOM, the predictive models provided results with coefficient of determination (R2) (0.44–0.45), root mean square error (RMSE) (0.8–0.83%), bias (0–0.22%), and concordance correlation coefficient (ρc) (0.56–0.58). For CEC, the R2 ranged from 0.39 to 0.44, RMSE ranged from 3.62 to 3.74 cmolc kg−1, bias ranged from 0–0.17 cmolc kg−1, and ρc ranged from 0.55 to 0.57. We also compared the results to the USDA Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) data. For both SOM and CEC, SSURGO was comparable with our predictive models, except for few map units where both SOM and CEC were either under or over predicted.

Mahnaz Seifi-Alan,1 Roshanak Shams,1 Mojgan Bandehpour,2 Reza Mirfakhraie,1 Soudeh Ghafouri-Fard1 1Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2Department of Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Purpose: Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) as an isoform-specific receptor for vascular endothelial growth factor and placenta growth factor in endothelial cells has been demonstrated to be expressed in breast cancer cells where it plays functional roles in cell survival, invasion, and migration. We hypothesized that an expression of NRP1 in breast cancer tissues is associated with clinicopathological data of patients and expression of the tumor suppressor miR-206. Patients and methods: We evaluated the expression of NRP1 in 48 invasive ductal carcinomas of the breast and their corresponding adjacent noncancerous tissues (ANCTs) by means of real-time polymerase chain reaction. We also extracted data on miR-206 gene expression from the same cohort of patients to evaluate the correlation between expression levels of miR-206 and NRP1. In addition, we quantified NRP1 protein levels using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. Results: No significant difference was found in NRP1 expression between tumoral tissues and ANCTs. We also assessed the associations between expression levels of NRP1 and clinicopathological data of patients and found no significant associations between NRP1 transcript levels and any characteristic. However, NRP1 protein concentrations were significantly higher in patients with lymph node involvement compared with those without lymph node involvement. No correlation was found between NRP1 and miR-206 expression levels. Conclusion: NRP1 protein levels might be an indicator of metastasis potential in breast cancer. Future studies are needed to confirm these results in larger cohorts of patients. Keywords: NRP1, neuropilin-1, breast cancer

Beginning abruptly in the second half of the Spring 2020 semester at Purdue University, we modified our teaching approach in Introductory Soil Science and Forest Soils courses (AGRY 255/270) with a combined annual enrollment of [approximately]370 students to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. In that semester, we went to entirely virtual lecture, lab, and discussion sessions with limited instructor-to-student interaction to reduce the spread of COVID-19. From Fall 2020 to Spring 2022, we re-instituted many of our pre-COVID-19 practices, with some COVID-19 modifications, as we adjusted to the new normal. These modifications included (1) an introductory video released at the start of the semester to explain the course structure and expectations for students who begin the semester ill or in quarantine and could not attend the first lecture in-person or live virtual, (2) lectures and exam reviews delivered in multiple formats (i.e., in-person, live over Zoom, and recorded/pre-recorded) to increase student access to these materials throughout the semester, (3) allowing early access to weekly online lab materials at the completion of the previous week (instead of after the next week's lecture) to allow students 3 more days to complete the online portion of the lab, and (4) creating digital versions (photographs and videos) of the hands-on lab materials and virtual field trips for students in quarantine or with excused absences. When activities were primarily virtual, we found email reminders were needed to make sure that students stayed on task and met course deadlines. Adjustments necessary during the early days of the pandemic that were not continued include (1) an assigned and supervised 1-h lab time (rather than unscheduled and self-guided student access to the lab) and (2) online live exams.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic in the fall of 2020, we created hybrid-virtual or fully virtual field trips to replace in-person field trips in two courses. For an introductory soil science course with 178 students enrolled, we used a narrative format supported by 360° ground-level and drone photos, newspaper articles, videos, websites, and landscape diagrams. After reading the narratives, the students took a quiz and then visited the sites (public parks near campus) on their own. For the advanced pedology course with seven students enrolled, a virtual trip replaced an all-day field trip that travels a 100-mile route from West Lafayette to Michigan City, IN. The virtual trip was created within the Soil Explorer platform and consists of >50 points of interest (POIs) overlayed on detailed soil maps. Each POI includes relevant information about the soils, agriculture, geology, geomorphology, or history at that point. At two POIs students examined four or five soils along two transects by filling in worksheets using the official series descriptions. Learning was facilitated by a study guide. Effectiveness was assessed by anonymous surveys. Students found the hybrid-virtual or fully virtual field trips informative, interesting, enjoyable, and appropriate given the pandemic. For the introductory class, 42% preferred a virtual field trip format, 39% preferred an in-person format, and 19% were neutral. In the advanced class there was with a clear preference for in-person field trips.

Plants represent a great source of medicines, and for their components to be discovered, extraction processes must be developed, especially methods based on green technology. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was employed as a green method for Moringa oleifera extraction in the present investigation. The maximum yield of extraction was obtained at 25 MPa. Moreover, the extraction at 25 MPa induced the release of various phenols and flavonoids, as analyzed via high-performance liquid chromatography. The investigation revealed the concentrations of chlorogenic, gallic, rosmarinic, and coumaric acids to be 150.59, 89.90, 44.75, and 29.41 μg/mL, respectively at 25 MPa. However, their concentrations were 0.73, 1.53, 0.24, and 0.04 μg/mL, respectively at 15 MPa; vs. 4.73, 2.62, 1.06, and 0.50 at 35 MPa, respectively. Totals of saponin, flavonoid, phenolic, tannins, and alkaloid were recorded in maximum yield at 25 MPa. Moringa oleifera extracted at 35 MPa reflected highest inhibition zones of 27 ± 0.1, 30 ± 0.2, and 30 ± 0.1 mm against C. glabrata, C. tropicalis, and C. albicans, correspondingly. α-Amylase and α-glucosidase activities were greatly suppressed by the M. oleifera extract at 25 MPa with less IC50 (12.97 μg/mL and 6.0 µg/mL), than the IC50 (53.46 and 22.02 μg/mL) at 15 MPa, compared with acarbose IC50 (5.52 and 2.64 μg/mL), correspondingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Heightened concerns on water pollution have increased research on environmentally friendly materials for water and wastewater treatment. Ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have emerged among potential solutions due to their properties, including low vapor pressure and solvating capabilities, enabling the targeting of specific contaminants. This critical review explores innovative applications of ILs and DESs in water and wastewater treatment, emphasizing adaptability and effectiveness in various treatment processes.

IntroductionLinking olfactory epithelium to the central nervous system are cranial nerve 1, the olfactory nerve, and cranial nerve “0,” and the nervus terminalis (NT). Since there is minimal expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2) in the olfactory nerve, it is unclear how SARS-CoV-2 causes anosmia (loss of smell) and hypogeusia (reduction of taste). In animal models, NT expresses ACE-2 receptors, suggesting a possible SARS-CoV-2 viral entry site in humans. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ultra-high-field 7 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could visualize the NT, olfactory bulbs (OB), and olfactory tract (OT) in healthy controls and COVID-19 anosmia or hypogeusia and to qualitatively assess for volume loss and T2 alterations.MethodsIn this study, 7 T MRI was used to evaluate the brain and olfactory regions in 45 COVID-19 patients and 29 healthy controls. Neuroimaging was qualitatively assessed by four board-certified neuroradiologists who were blinded to outcome assignments: for the presence or absence of NT; for OB, OT, and brain volume loss; and altered T2 signal, white matter T2 hyperintensities, microhemorrhages, enlarged perivascular spaces, and brainstem involvement.ResultsNT was identifiable in all COVID-19 patients and controls. T2 hyperintensity in the NT, OB, and OT in COVID-19 patients with anosmia or hypogeusia was statistically significant compared to controls and COVID-19 patients without anosmia or hypogeusia.DiscussionOn 7 T MRI, NT was radiographically identifiable, adjacent to OB and OT. In COVID-19 anosmia and hypogeusia, T2 hyperintensity of NT, OB, and OT was statistically significant compared to COVID-19 patients without anosmia or hypogeusia and controls. The NT may be a potential entry site for SARs-CoV-2 and may play a role in the pathophysiology of COVID-19 anosmia.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are eco-friendly substitutes for volatile organic solvents due to their unique properties, fostering widespread adoption across academic fields and industries. This review critically evaluates their application in soil remediation, comparing their performance and environmental footprint against conventional soil remediating agents. The review provides insights into the interplay of IL characteristics, optimal environmental conditions, and contaminant removal mechanisms, while also exploring strategies for modifying and regenerating ILs. Optimal conditions for contaminant removal involve acidic pH for organic compounds and metals, with high temperatures proving beneficial for metal extraction. ILs remove organic contaminants from soil via electrostatic attraction and π–π interactions. In contrast, heavy metal extraction is facilitated by forming complexes through hydrogen bonding, coordination bonding, and electrostatic interactions. The incorporation of acetone and calcium chloride reduces the viscosity while sodium azide effectively prevents microbial degradation of ILs. Using magnetic ILs, acid elution, ultrasonication, and supercritical CO2 extraction techniques enhances IL regeneration efficiency and facilitates their reuse, thereby minimizing secondary pollution and reducing cost. Life cycle assessment of common ILs for remediation, such as 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([Bmim][BF4]) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([Bmim][PF6]) showed that producing 1 ​kg of [Bmim][BF4] emits 6.75 ​kg CO2, whereas manufacturing 1 ​kg of [Bmim][PF6] releases 5.70 ​kg CO2, indicating [Bmim][PF6] has a lower global warming potential due to its environmentally-friendly precursors. The review advocates for continuous improvements in production processes and the development of ILs synthesized from renewable sources to mitigate environmental impacts and enhance their suitability for soil remediation.

Background: Prostate carcinoma is a histologically demarcated pathology, that mainly manifest with silent clinical features which expresses itself as the disease progresses to advance level. Prostate carcinoma has been the 2nd most common type of carcinoma in male and the most common histological pattern of prostate carcinoma is adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis of prostate carcinoma is the most crucial stage of the pathology which is most accurately diagnosed through histopathological analysis but equal accurate diagnosis can be achieved through DWI MRI grading known as PIRAD grading which not only diagnose the stage of carcinoma but also elaborates the anatomical zones of designated carcinomic cell in the prostate gland. Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging for prostatic carcinoma taking histopathology as gold standard. Materials and methods: The duration of study was from 01 march 2019 to 01 Dec 2020 at Lahore General Hospital, Pakistan. A retrospective cross-sectional study included 114 patients which were admitted to Radiology department with provisional diagnosis of prostate carcinoma along with the associated clinical manifestations. The patients were chosen through convenient sampling technique. Results: According to our results the PSA found in prostate cancer was recorded to be maximum around 56.40 ng/mL and minimum to be around 3.45 ng/mL among 115 patients. The Gleason score reported in our study was an around the following figures, the most frequent cases of prostate carcinoma has been reported with Gleason score 7(3+4) to be around 45 patients (39.5%) cases out of 115 patients and around 25 cases (21.9%) was reported in the Gleason score 6 (3+3). And the Gleason score 8(4+4) and 9(5+4) was reported with 18 (15.8%) and 20(17.5%) cases out of 115 patients. According to our study we divided the statistics around high, very high, low, very low and intermediate along with normal. The patients with minimal invasion and low recurrence of prostate cancer. According to our results the DOR of prostate carcinoma on DWIMRI was found to be around the figures of the following categories such as sensitivity was found to be around 91.21% and specificity was found to be around the figures of 47.83% along with the disease prevalence of around 79.82% with the positive predictive value of 87.37% and negative predictive value of 57.89% which statistically deduced the DOR of prostate carcinoma to be around 82.46%. Conclusion: The study concluded that PIRAD grading has significant diagnostic credibility to detect not only the stage of prostatic carcinoma but also has equal accuracy to detect the region of invasion of prostatic carcinomic cells to not only gives the diagnostic information as accurate as histopathological analysis but also helps the medical practitioner to devise the management plan for the patient for better prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess carpal tunnel syndrome on ultrasound in 3rd trimester of pregnancy at Iftikhar Ultrasound Center, Toba Tek Singh in 9 months after the approval of synopsis by the Ethical Review Committee of The University of Lahore, Lahore. Material & Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was performed. All patients who were inquired regarding the variables like diabetes, gestational age, hypertension and generalized edema of the wrist joint were included in our study. Wrist joint Ultrasound was performed of each patient in sitting position on grey scale. All variables mentioned-above for each patient were recorded and maintained in their individual Case Record Form (CRF). Statistical Package SPSS version 24.0 was used for the evaluation of the data and compilation of results. Results: Total no of 80 pregnant patients were taken having CTS. The age ranging of these patients was from 26-35 years. 29 patients (36.3%) had CTS in the right hand and 27 patients 33.8% presented with left hand Carpal tunnel syndrome. 39 patients have the history of hypertension and 29 patients out of 80 were diabetic. 17 patients had left hand generalized edema and 13 patients had right sided generalized edema. Median nerve diameter of the right hand was recorded from minimum 11mm to the maximum 19mm, and in the left hand it was 10-20mm. the gestational age of the fetus in the females suffering from CTS was from 108 days to 142 days. Conclusion: Most previous research indicated linked CTS during the third trimester of pregnancy, and limited investigation was found to explore CTS explanation in early pregnant patients. To avoid permanent damage to the median nerve, CTS should be explored in hand-paresthesia pregnant women. A full diagnostic evaluation, including electrophysiological testing, should be done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Various concentrations of samarium‐grafted‐carbon nitride (Sm‐g‐C3N4) doped‐bismuth oxobromide (BiOBr) quantum dots (QDs) are prepared by the co‐precipitation method. Elemental evaluation, morphological, optical, and functional group assessment are studied employing characterization techniques. Based on the XRD pattern analysis, it is determined that BiOBr exhibits a tetragonal crystal structure. The electronic spectroscopy revealed an absorption peak for BiOBr at 315 nm and the bandgap energy (Eg) decreasing from 3.9 to 3.8 eV with the insertion of Sm‐g‐C3N4. The presence of vibrational modes related to BiOBr at 550 cm−1 is confirmed through FTIR spectra. TEM revealed that pure BiOBr possessed non‐uniform QDS, and agglomeration increased with the addition of Sm‐g‐C3N4. The catalytic performance of Sm‐g‐C3N4 into BiOBr (6 mL) in a neutral medium toward rhodamine B exhibited excellent results (99.66%). The bactericidal activity is evaluated against multi‐drug resistance (MDR) Escherichia coli once the surface area is increased by dopant and the measured inhibition zone is assessed to be 3.65 mm. Molecular docking results supported the in vitro bactericidal potential of Sm‐g‐C3N4 and Sm‐g‐C3N4 doped‐BiOBr as DNA gyraseE. coli inhibitors. This study shows that the novel Sm‐g‐C3N4 doped‐BiOBr is a better catalyst that increases specific semiconductor's catalytic activity (CA).

Background: Ultrasound is regarded as the optimum first-line imaging method for assessing kidney function. The possibility of a link between tobacco smoke exposure and ultrasound-measured kidney parameters has yet to be investigated that's why we conducted that study for investigation Objective: To evaluate the association of smoking with renal pathologies on ultrasound. Methodology: The cross sectional study was conducted in which data of 74 patients were taken. The data was collected from the Tahir medical complex Harronabad. Results:74 subjects were included in our study out of which 68 were males and 6 were females with the mean age of 52.05. The ultrasound of kidney showed that only 12% have abnormal decreased renal length while 3% show increased renal length, 41% patients show abnormal parenchymal echogenicity with varied grading. According to pathologies 35 % showed renal stones 22% showed hydronephrosis 18% showed renal cyst, 5% showed pyelonephritis while no renal mass is seen. Conclusion: After excluding hypertension and diabetes mellitus patients we found only few patients showed reduced kidney length and some patients showed increased parenchymal echogenicity otherwise we did not find any kind of changes in kidney sonographic findings related to renal pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose this Study: To enhance the importance of sonography in different pathologies so patient can be safe from unwanted interventions and surgeries. Lymphadenopathy refers to lymph nodes whose scale greater than 10 mm is irregular. The prevalence of unexplained lymphadenopathy is 0.6 % only, 1.1% of these contribute in malignancy, but with advancing age, this proportion rises. Cancers was found in 4% of patients aged 40 years and compared to 0.4 % of patients under 40 years of age who have unresolved lymphadenopathy. Material and Methods: The data bases PubMed, ProQuest, Google scholar and research gate were searched with the key words: Cervical lymphadenopathy, mesenteric lymphadenopathy, inguinal lymphadenopathy, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and benign and malignant lymphadenopathy from 2010 to 2020. Only those studies were enrolled in the review which includes the lymphadenopathy. Results: In total, 18 studies were found cervical, mesenteric, superficial, parotid, mediastinal and axillary lymphadenopathy. The overall mean sensitivity of sonography in all diseases was 84.1% while overall mean specificity was 85.3% and overall mean accuracy of 85.5%. Conclusion: A high degree of accuracy is achieved in the differentiation of benign from malignant cervical lymph nodes using sonographic data, therefore it should be utilized as a first-line diagnostic tool in a variety of medical situations as the investigation's sensitivity and specificity were both very high, which was really remarkable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been largely dependent on retrospective cine for data acquisition. Real-time imaging, although inferior in image quality to retrospective cine, is more informative about motion dynamics. We herein developed a real-time cardiac MRI approach to temporospatial characterization of left ventricle (LV) and right ventricle (RV) wall motion. This approach provided two temporospatial indices, temporal periodicity and spatial coherence, for quantitative assessment of ventricular function. In a cardiac MRI study, we prospectively investigated temporospatial characterization in reference to standard volumetric measurements with retrospective cine. The temporospatial indices were found to be effective for evaluating the difference of ventricular performance between the healthy volunteers and the heart failure (HF) patients (LV temporal periodicity 0.24 ± 0.037 vs. 0.14 ± 0.021; RV temporal periodicity 0.18 ± 0.030 vs. 0.10 ± 0.014; LV spatial coherence 0.52 ± 0.039 vs. 0.38 ± 0.040; RV spatial coherence 0.50 ± 0.036 vs. 0.35 ± 0.035; all in arbitrary unit). The HF patients and healthy volunteers were well differentiated in the scatter plots of spatial coherence and temporal periodicity while they were mixed in those of end-systolic volume (ESV) and ejection fraction (EF) from volumetric measurements. This study demonstrated the potential of real-time cardiac MRI for intricate analysis of ventricular function beyond retrospective cine.

A 61-year-old male with chronic cough, paraesthesia of the extremities, and sinusitis presented for acute worsening of symptoms despite initial treatment with antibiotics and prednisone. Emergency department evaluation revealed mild elevated troponin without ECG changes in absence of coronary symptoms, but markedly elevated eosinophil count and an abnormal chest CT. A nuclear stress test revealed basal and inferoseptal dyskinesis with fixed apical defect. Left heart catheterisation revealed multiple coronary stenosis requiring intervention. Further extensive work-up confirmed a diagnosis of hypereosinophilic syndrome complicated with respiratory, cardiac, gastroenterological, and neurological involvement. The patient was initially treated with a high dose of intravenous steroid and hydroxyurea. Flow cytometry revealed negative FIP1L1-PDGFRA gene rearrangement, but was positive for JAK2 V617F mutation and perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies/cytoplasmic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies, indicating possible overlap of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

While COVID-19 is primarily considered a respiratory disease, it has been shown to affect the central nervous system. Mounting evidence shows that COVID-19 is associated with neurological complications as well as effects thought to be related to neuroinflammatory processes. Due to the novelty of COVID-19, there is a need to better understand the possible long-term effects it may have on patients, particularly linkage to neuroinflammatory processes. Perivascular spaces (PVS) are small fluid-filled spaces in the brain that appear on MRI scans near blood vessels and are believed to play a role in modulation of the immune response, leukocyte trafficking, and glymphatic drainage. Some studies have suggested that increased number or presence of PVS could be considered a marker of increased blood-brain barrier permeability or dysfunction and may be involved in or precede cascades leading to neuroinflammatory processes. Due to their size, PVS are better detected on MRI at ultrahigh magnetic field strengths such as 7 Tesla, with improved sensitivity and resolution to quantify both concentration and size. As such, the objective of this prospective study was to leverage a semi-automated detection tool to identify and quantify differences in perivascular spaces between a group of 10 COVID-19 patients and a similar subset of controls to determine whether PVS might be biomarkers of COVID-19-mediated neuroinflammation. Results demonstrate a detectable difference in neuroinflammatory measures in the patient group compared to controls. PVS count and white matter volume were significantly different in the patient group compared to controls, yet there was no significant association between PVS count and symptom measures. Our findings suggest that the PVS count may be a viable marker for neuroinflammation in COVID-19, and other diseases which may be linked to neuroinflammatory processes.