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Mucin 4 (MUC4) overexpression promotes tumorigenesis and increases the aggressiveness of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). To date, no study has reported the association between radiomics and MUC4 expression in PDAC. Thus, we aimed to explore the utility of radiomics based on multi-sequence magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict the status of MUC4 expression in PDAC preoperatively.This retrospective study included 52 patients with PDAC who underwent MRI. The patients were divided into two groups based on MUC4 expression status. Two feature sets were extracted from the arterial and portal phases (PPs) of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI). Univariate analysis, minimum redundancy maximum relevance (MRMR), and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed for the feature selection of each dataset, and features with a cumulative variance of 90% were selected to develop radiomics models. Clinical characteristics were gathered to develop a clinical model. The selected radiomics features and clinical characteristics were modeled by multivariable logistic regression. The combined model integrated radiomics features from different selected data sets and clinical characteristics. The classification metrics were applied to assess the discriminatory power of the models.There were 22 PDACs with a high expression of MUC4 and 30 PDACs with a low expression of MUC4. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) values of the arterial phase (AP) model, the PP model, and the combined model were 0.732 (0.591-0.872), 0.709 (0.569-0.849), and 0.861 (0.760-0.961), respectively. The AUC of the clinical model was 0.666 (0.600-0.682). The combined model that was constructed outperformed the AP, the PP, and the clinical models (P0.05, although no statistical significance was observed in the combined modelRadiomics models based on multi-sequence MRI have the potential to predict MUC4 expression levels in PDAC.

To study the MRI characteristics of early extrapancreatic necrosis and compare them with those of peripancreatic fluid collections in acute pancreatitis (AP).This retrospective study enrolled 70 AP patients who had extrapancreatic collections visible on MRI within 1 week of onset. Extrapancreatic collections were divided into extrapancreatic necrosis and peripancreatic fluid collections based on follow-up MRI, CT, or pathology. The number and area of extrapancreatic collections, extrapancreatic inflammation on MRI (EPIM) score, MR severity index score and clinical characteristics were evaluated and compared between the two groups.Of the seventy AP patients, 32 (45.7%) had extrapancreatic necrosis, and 38 (54.3%) had peripancreatic fluid collections. The number and area of extrapancreatic collections, MR severity index score, EPIM score, and prevalence of associated hemorrhage were significantly higher in extrapancreatic necrosis patients than in those with peripancreatic fluid collections (p0.001). Among the single indicators, the accuracy of the area of extrapancreatic collections (AUC = 0.871) was comparable to that of the EPIM score for predicting extrapancreatic necrosis and was significantly higher than that of the other two indicators. The combination of all indicators showed the highest predictive accuracy (AUC = 0.949), and combinations of two or more indicators demonstrated significantly higher predictive accuracy for extrapancreatic necrosis than any single indicator (p0.05) except for the area of extrapancreatic collections (p0.05).The MRI characteristics have the potential to differentiate early extrapancreatic necrosis from peripancreatic fluid collections and help indicate extrapancreatic necrosis.

Background An extended cholecystectomy is generally recommended for patients with gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) at stage T2 or above, and involves cholecystectomy and a limited hepatic resection. It is important to differentiate tumor-adjacent and tumor-distant liver tissues before surgery for surgical strategies decision making. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) can provide functional information by depicting the diffusion of water in biological tissue and can be quantitated by apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). Our study aimed to evaluate feasibility of ADC and its standard deviation (ADCsd) to differentiate between tumor-adjacent and tumor-distant liver tissues in T3 staged resectable GBC. Methods A total of 41 consecutive patients with T3 staged resectable GBC were included in this retrospective study and divided into two sets with (n = 27) and without (n = 14) liver invasion. All patients underwent DWI at b-values of 0, 20, 50, 80, 100, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 sec/mm2 with a 3.0-T magnetic resonance scanner before surgery. Mean ADC and ADCsd of tumor-adjacent and tumor-distant liver tissues were measured on DWI, and were compared by Mann-Whitney U tests. If there was a significant difference in any derived parameter, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to assess performance of this parameter for differentiating tumor-adjacent and tumor-distant liver tissues. Results In the set with liver invasion, mean ADC and ADCsd of tumor-adjacent liver tissue were lower than those of tumor-distant liver tissue when b = 0, 800 sec/mm2, and b = 0, 1000 sec/mm2, respectively (all P-values sd at all b values had no statistical differences between tumor-adjacent and tumor-distant liver tissues (all P-values > 0.05). To differentiate tumor-adjacent from tumor-distant liver tissues in the set with liver invasion, AUCs of ADC were 0.687 (b = 0, 800 sec/mm2) and 0.680 (b = 0, 1000 sec/mm2), respectively; and those of ADCsd were 0.673 (b = 0, 800 sec/mm2) and 0.731 (b = 0, 1000 sec/mm2), respectively. Conclusions In patients with liver invasion by T3 staged GBC, ADC and ADCsd could have potential value in differentiating tumor-adjacent from tumor-distant liver tissues.

Background It is essential to accurately determine resectability of thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) for treatment decision making. Previous studies revealed that CT-derived gross tumour volume (GTV) associates well with T category of ESCC, nodal metastases and N stage, treatment failure rate, and disease survival rate. This study aimed to explore whether anatomical distribution-based GTV of non-distant metastatic thoracic ESCC measured with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) could quantitatively determine the resectability. Methods 473 consecutive patients with biopsy-confirmed non-distant metastatic thoracic ESCC underwent contrast-enhanced CT were randomized into the training (TC, 376 patients) and validation (VC, 97 patients) cohorts. GTV was retrospectively measured on MDCT. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify risk factors of non-distant metastatic ESCC resectability in TC. Subsequently, Mann-Whitney U test was applied to compare GTV based on different anatomic distributions between patients of resectable and unresectable ESCCs. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was to clarify if anatomical distribution-based GTV could help quantitatively determinate resectability. Unweighted Cohen’s Kappa tests in VC were to assess the performance of the previous models. Results Univariate analysis demonstrated that gender, anatomic distribution, cT stage, cN stage and GTV were related to resectability of non-distant metastatic ESCC (all P-values P 3, 22.89 cm3 and 22.58 cm3 to determine resectability with areas under the ROC curves of more than 0.9, respectively. Unweighted Cohen’s Kappa tests showed an excellent performance of the ROC models in the upper, middle and lower thoracic portions with Cohen k-values of 0.913, 0.879 and 0.871, respectively. Conclusions GTV and anatomic distribution of non-distant metastatic thoracic ESCC could be independent risk factors of resectability, and anatomical distribution-based GTV could well quantitatively determine resectability.

To examine the longitudinal associations of sleep duration and sleep quality with coronary heart disease (CHD) risk among individuals aged ≥ 20 years. A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational cohort studies were performed to evaluate the association between sleep quality and duration, and the risk of CHD. We searched three databases including PUBMED, the Cochrane Library and EMBASE, selected relevant studies and used the classical and Net-work models to establish the hazard ratio (HRs) of the results. Data extracted from 11 studies including 769,452 participants and 14,769 patients with CHD events were reviewed. In the classical meta-analysis, night sleep duration of 8 h showed an increased risk of CHD (HR = 1.13, and 1.13, respectively) compared with reference sleep (7–8 h). However, the net-work model stratified sleep quality into good and poor subgroups, and there was no change in CHD risk in each subgroup despite different sleep hours. Furthermore, individuals with poor-quality sleep were at a greater risk of CHD than those with good-quality sleep (HR = 1.4, 1.3, and 1.4 for 8 h, respectively). Moreover, individuals with reference time sleep but that of poor quality were associated with an increased risk of CHD compared with good sleepers having short/long sleep duration (HR = 1.3 and 1.2, respectively). Poor-quality sleep was associated with great morbidity and mortality of CHD, independent of sleep duration. Sleep quality rather than sleep duration might be crucial for increased CHD risk, suggesting the potential importance of poor-quality sleep as a possible CHD risk factor.

To develop a novel logistic regression model based on liver/spleen volumes and portal vein diameter measured on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for predicting oesophagogastric variceal bleeding (OVB) secondary to HBV cirrhosis.One hundred eighty-five consecutive cirrhotic patients with hepatitis B undergoing abdominal contrast-enhanced MRI were randomly divided into training cohort (n = 130) and validation cohort (n = 55). Spleen volume, total liver volume, four liver lobe volumes, and diameters of portal venous system were measured on MRI. Ratios of spleen volume to total liver and to individual liver lobe volumes were calculated. In training cohort, univariate analyses and binary logistic regression analyses were to determine independent predictors. Performance of the model for predicting OVB constructed based on independent predictors from training cohort was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and was validated by Kappa test in validation cohort.OVB occurred in 42 and 18 individuals in training and validation cohorts during the 2 years' follow-up, respectively. An OVB prediction model was constructed based on the independent predictors including right liver lobe volume (RV), left gastric vein diameter (LGVD) and portal vein diameter (PVD) (odds ratio = 0.993, 2.202 and 1.613, respectively; p-values0.001 for all). The logistic regression model equation (-0.007 × RV + 0.79 × LGVD + 0.478 × PVD-6.73) for predicting OVB obtained excellent performance with an area under ROC curve of 0.907. The excellent performance was confirmed by Kappa test with K-value of 0.802 in validation cohort.The novel logistic regression model can be reliable for predicting OVB.• Patients with oesophagogastric variceal bleeding are mainly characterized by decreased right lobe volume, and increased spleen volume and diameters of portal vein system. • The right liver lobe volume, left gastric vein diameter and portal vein diameter are the independent predictors of oesophagogastric variceal bleeding. • The novel model developed based on the independent predictors performed well in predicting oesophagogastric variceal bleeding with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.907.

Objective To investigate changes in CT manifestations and results of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing between afferent and second-generation coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outside the original city (Wuhan) until recovery Methods We collected 26 consecutive COVID-19 patients undergoing initial and follow-up CT scans together with RT-PCR until recovery from 2 hospitals outside the original city Seventeen patients with afferent infection and 9 with second-generation infection were assigned to Group A and B, respectively By observing CT manifestations, we scored COVID-19, and statistically analyzed numbers of patients with changes in CT scores and RT-PCR results between stages Results The total score of COVID-19 on initial CT manifestations was higher in Group A than in Group B (P < 0 05) COVID-19 progressed more frequently from stage 1 to 2, and relieved from stage 3 to 4 in Group A (P < 0 05) The similar trend in Group A could not be found in Group B Results of RT-PCR in most of patients in Group A turned negative at stage 4 while those in Group B turned negative at stage 3 (P < 0 05) Conclusion Changes in CT manifestation and RT-PCR result can be different between afferent and second-generation COVID-19 until recovery

Objective To discuss the high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients among different clinical types on initial and follow-up CT. Methods Seven COVID-19 patients admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical Collage were enrolled. All patients underwent initial and follow-up chest HRCT. The main CT features and semi-quantitative score which represent disease severity among different clinical types were evaluated. Result On initial CT, the main abnormalities observed in common and severe cases respectively were pure ground glass opacities (GGOs) and patchy consolidation surrounded by GGOs. Critical cases had multiple consolidation surrounded by wide range of GGOs distributed in the whole lung fields. The scope and density score in common (4.5 and 5), severe (9.5 and 9.5) and critical (19 and 12) cases were increased by gradient. On follow-up CT, common and severe types manifested as decreasing density of lesion, absorbed consolidation and GGOs. Critical cases showed progression of the disease. The extent and progression scores in common and severe patients were significantly decreased, while the range score of patients with critical disease reached the highest points, accompanied with an increase in the density score. Conclusion CT scanning can accurately assess the severity of COVID-19, and help to monitor disease transformation during follow-up among different clinical conditions.

In this communication, a paramagnetic bifunctional manganese(II) chelate ([Mn(Dopa-EDTA)]2−) containing a catechol group is designed and synthesized. The catechol can bind iron ions on the surface of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanocrystals to form core–shell nanoparticles. Both 4 and 7 nm SPIO@[Mn(Dopa-EDTA)]2− show good water solubility, single-crystal dispersion, and low cytotoxicity. The study of the interplay between the longitudinal and transverse relaxation revealed that 4 nm SPIO@[Mn(Dopa-EDTA)]2− with lower r2/r1 = 1.75 at 0.5 T tends to be a perfect T1 contrast agent while 7 nm SPIO@[Mn(Dopa-EDTA)]2− with a higher r2/r1 = 15.0 at 3.0 T tends to be a T2 contrast agent. Interestingly, 4 nm SPIO@[Mn(Dopa-EDTA)]2− with an intermediate value of r2/r1 = 5.26 at 3.0 T could act as T1–T2 dual-modal contrast agent. In vivo imaging with the 4 nm SPIO@[Mn(Dopa-EDTA)]2− nanoparticle shows unique imaging features: (1) long-acting vascular imaging and different signal intensity changes between the liver parenchyma and blood vessels with the CEMRA sequence; (2) the synergistic contrast enhancement of hepatic imaging with the T1WI and T2WI sequence. In summary, these Fe/Mn hybrid core–shell nanoparticles, with their ease of synthesis, good biocompatibility, and synergistic contrast enhancement ability, may provide a useful method for tissue and vascular MR imaging.

To explore clinical effect of arthroscopic debridement combined with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection for Kellgren-Lawrence(K-L) gradeⅠ-Ⅲ knee osteoarthritis (KOA) .Totally 117 patients with KOA who underwent arthroscopic debridement combined with injection from November 2015 to January 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. According to different injection drugs, the patients were divided into sodium hyaluronate group(group A) and PRP group(group B). In group A, there were 60 patients, including 27 males and 33 females, aged from 49 to 67 years old with an average age of (54.1±4.8) years old;12 patients with gradeⅠ, 23 patients with gradeⅡand 25 patients with grade Ⅲ according to K-L clssification, 2 ml(20 g) sodium hyaluronate was injected into knee joint after intraoperative, 1, 2, 3 weeks after operation for 4 times. In group B, there were 57 patients, including 25 males and 32 females, aged from 47 to 70 years old with an average of (55.8±5.0) years old, 10 patients with gradeⅠ, 20 patients with gradeⅡand 27 patients with grade Ⅲ according to K-L classification, injected 5 ml PRP at the same time. Postoperative complications was recorded between two groups. Postoperative visual analogue scale(VAS) and Lysholm score at 3, 6, 12 months were used to evaluate improvement of knee pain and joint function.All patients were followed up for 12 to 19 months with an average of (14.1±1.6) months. There was no significant difference in postopertaive complications between group A and group B (Arthroscopic debridement combined with sodium hyaluronate or PRP injection for K-L gradeⅠ-Ⅲ KOA could effectively relieve pain and improve joint function with higher safety in short term, but the medium-long-term effect of PRP injection is stable.

Rationale and Objectives To assess the characteristics of pancreatic perfusion in normal pancreas and acute pancreatitis (AP) by using dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Method and Materials Eighty-One AP patients and 26 normal subjects underwent DCE-MRI. The Omitk-Tool was used to analyze perfusion parameters such as Ktrans, Vp, and AUC. The parameters of pancreas between AP and control groups were compared. In AP patients, the parameters were compared between edematous and necrotizing pancreatitis and among different grades of AP as determined by MR severity index (MRSI) and the 2012 Revised Atlanta Classification of AP. Results The Ktrans, Vp, and AUC values of AP were lower than those of the control group (p = 0.007, 0.000, and 0.025). According to MRSI, the Ktrans and AUC values were significantly different between mild and moderate (p = 0.000, 0.000) and between mild and severe (p = 0.008, 0.016) AP but not between moderate and severe AP (p = 0.218, 0.217). Based on the 2012 Revised Atlanta Classification, the Ktrans values were significantly different between mild and moderately severe (p = 0.000) and between mild and severe (p = 0.005) AP, but not between moderately severe and severe AP (p = 0.619). The Ktrans values were significantly different between edematous and necrotizing pancreatitis (p = 0.03). Conclusion The application of DCE-MRI to evaluate pancreatic perfusion contributes to the diagnosis of AP and its severity grade. Pancreatic perfusion is lower in AP patients than in patients with a normal pancreas, and pancreatic perfusion tends to decrease as the severity of AP increases.

Autologous liver transplantation (ALT) to cure end-stage hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (HAE) requires that hepatobiliary surgeons understand the invasion of intrahepatic structure and adjacent tissues or organs. Triphase contrast-enhanced CT of the liver has been widely used for diagnosis and preoperative evaluation of HAE. Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction allows for accurate measurement of remnant liver volume (RLV). The objective of the study was to evaluate value of triphase contrast-enhanced CT together with 3D reconstruction in preoperative evaluation of indications for ALT in patients with end-stage HAE. This cohort include twenty-one consecutive patients with end-stage HAE, who preoperatively underwent triphase enhanced CT together with 3D reconstruction for ALT. To depict the indications, the 2D image data were reviewed statistically focusing on porta hepatis invasion, retrohepatic vena cava (RHVC) involvement and degrees of intrahepatic vessel invasion, and the 3D reconstruction was performed to obtain ratio of RLV to standard liver volume (SLV). The results showed that 95.24% patients (20/21) had porta hepatis invasion. When lesions located in right liver lobe, porta hepatis invasion occurred most commonly in the second and third porta hepatis (7/10), whereas the first, second and third porta hepatis were most commonly invaded by lesions in the right and caudate / left medial liver lobes (7/11) (P P

ObjectiveTo investigate relationship of tumor stage-based gross tumor volume (GTV) of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) measured on computed tomography (CT) with early recurrence (ER) after esophagectomy.Materials and MethodsTwo hundred and four consecutive patients with resectable ESCC including 159 patients enrolled in the training cohort (TC) and 45 patients in validation cohort (VC) underwent contrast-enhanced CT less than 2 weeks before esophagectomy. GTV was retrospectively measured by multiplying sums of all tumor areas by section thickness. For the TC, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine factors associated with ER. Mann-Whitney U test was conducted to compare GTV in patients with and without ER. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to determine if tumor stage-based GTV could predict ER. For the VC, unweighted Cohen’s Kappa tests were used to evaluate the performances of the previous ROC predictive models.ResultsER occurred in 63 of 159 patients (39.6%) in the TC. According to the univariate analysis, histologic differentiation, cT stage, cN stage, and GTV were associated with ER after esophagectomy (all P-values < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that cT stage and GTV were independent risk factors with hazard ratios of 3.382 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.533–7.459] and 1.222 (95% CI: 1.125–1.327), respectively (all P-values < 0.05). Mann-Whitney U tests showed that GTV could help differentiate between ESCC with and without ER in stages cT1-4a, cT2, and cT3 (all P-values < 0.001), and the ROC analysis demonstrated the corresponding cutoffs of 13.31, 17.22, and 17.83 cm3 with areas under the curve of more than 0.8, respectively. In the VC, the Kappa tests validated that the ROC predictive models had good performances for differentiating between ESCC with and without ER in stages cT1-4a, cT2, and cT3 with Cohen k of 0.696 (95% CI, 0.498–0.894), 0.733 (95% CI, 0.386–1.080), and 0.862 (95% CI, 0.603–1.121), respectively.ConclusionGTV and cT stage can be independent risk factors of ER in ESCC after esophagectomy, and tumor stage-based GTV measured on CT can help predict ER.

To assess the performance of knee MRI for forensic age prediction and classification for 12-, 14-, 16-, and 18-year thresholds.The ossification stages of distal femoral epiphyses and proximal tibial epiphyses were assessed using an integrated staging system by Schmeling et al. and Kellinghaus et al. for knee 3.0T MRI with T1-weighted turbo spin-echo (T1-TSE) in sagittal orientation among 852 Chinese Han individuals (483 males and 369 females) aged 7-30 years. Regression models for age prediction were constructed and their performances were evaluated based on mean absolute deviation (MAD) values. In addition, the performances of age classification were assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses.The intra- and inter-observer agreement levels were very good (κ0.80). The complete fusion of those two types of epiphyses took place before 18.0 years in our study participants. The minimum MAD values were 2.51 years (distal femur) and 2.69 years (proximal tibia) in males, and 2.75 years (distal femur) and 2.87 years (proximal tibia) in females. The specificity values of constructed prediction models were all above 90% for the 12-, 14-, and 16-year thresholds, compared to the 74.8-84.6% for the 18-year threshold. Better performances of age prediction and classification were observed in males by distal femoral epiphyses.Ossification stages via 3.0T MRI of the knee with T1-TSE sequence using an integrated staging system could be a reliable noninvasive method for age prediction or for age classification for 12-, 14-, and 16-year thresholds, especially in males by distal femoral epiphyses. However, assessments based on the full bony fusion of the distal femoral epiphysis and proximal tibial epiphysis seemed not reliable for age classification for the 18-year threshold in the Chinese Han population.

To evaluate feasibility of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) at different b-values to differentiate between tumor, tumor-adjacent and tumor-distant tissues in rectal adenocarcinoma (RA).Seventy consecutive patients with RA undergoing preoperative diffusion-weighted imaging were retrospectively enrolled. ADCs of tumor, proximal tumor-adjacent tissue (PTA) and tumor-distant tissue (PTD), and distal tumor-adjacent tissue (DTA) and tumor-distant tissue (DTD) were calculated with b-values of 0 and 800 sec/mmMean ADC of tumor was lower than those of PTA, PTD, DTA and DTD; and mean ADCs of PTA and DTA were lower than those of PTD and DTD at all b-values, respectively (all P-values 0.001). ADC cut-offs of 1.089 × 10ADC can help differentiate between tumor, tumor-adjacent and tumor-distant tissues in RA.

To evaluate whether combinations of liver lobe and spleen volumes obtained on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could predict esophagogastric variceal bleeding (EVB) in hepatitis B-related cirrhotic patients. Ninety-six consecutive patients with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis underwent upper abdominal contrast-enhanced MRI within 1 week after initial hospitalization, and grouped based on outcomes of EVB during the 2 years' follow-up after being discharged. Total liver volume (TLV), spleen volume (SV) and 4 liver lobe volumes including right lobe volume (RV), left medial lobe volume (LMV), left lateral lobe volume (LLV), and caudate lobe volume (CV) were measured on MRI. Percentages of individual liver lobe volumes in TLV (including RV/TLV, LMV/TLV, LLV/TLV, and CV/TLV), ratios of SV to individual liver lobe volumes (including SV/RV, SV/LMV, SV/LLV, and SV/CV), and SV/TLV were statistically analyzed to predict EVB. Patients with EVB had lower RV than without EVB (P value = .001), whereas no differences in LMV, LLV, CV, and TLV were found (P values .05 for all). Among percentages of individual liver lobe volumes in TLV, RV/TLV was lower whereas LMV/TLV and LLV/TLV were greater in patients with EVB than without EVB (P values .05 for all). SV, ratios of SV to individual liver lobe volumes, and SV/TLV in patients with EVB were larger than without EVB (P values .05 for all). Among parameters with difference between patients with and without EVB, SV/RV could best predict EVB with an area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.84. SV/RV could best predict EVB in hepatitis B-related cirrhotic patients.

As an extension of the conventional diffusion weighted imaging, diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is based on the non-Gaussian diffusion model that can inherently account for restricted water diffusion within the complex microstructure of most tissues. This study aimed to investigate association of liver DKI derived parameter with stage of liver fibrosis.Fifty-six healthy New Zealand white rabbits were enrolled into this study, among which 48 rabbits were randomly given carbon tetrachloride to model liver fibrosis, and 8 rabbits treated with normal saline served as control subjects. All rabbits underwent liver DKI followed by biopsy to stage fibrosis (stages F0-F4) on 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th weekends after initiation of modeling fibrosis. Mean kurtosis (MK), fractional anisotropy (FA), and mean diffusion (MD) were derived from DKI data. Statistical analysis was to evaluate association of DKI derived parameter with stage of fibrosis.FA (r = 0.512) and MK (r = 0.567) increased, and MD (r = -0.574) decreased with increasing stage of fibrosis from F0 to F4 (all p values0.05). Significant differences were found in all parameters between F0 and F3 or F4, F1 and F4, F0 and F1-4, and F0-1 and F2-4 (all p values0.05). FA and MD could distinguish between F0 from F2, MD, and MK could distinguish F1 from F3, F0-2 from F3-4, and F1-2 from F3-4, and MK and FA could distinguish F2 from F4, and F0-3 from F4 (all p values0.05). According to receiver operating characteristic analysis, MK could best predict stage ≥F1, ≥F2, ≥F3, and F4, and discriminate F1-2 from F3-4 with areas under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.766-0.930.DKI derived parameters can help stage fibrosis.

Background Computed tomography (CT) or MR images may cause the severity of early acute pancreatitis (AP) to be underestimated. As an innovative image analysis method, radiomics may have potential clinical value in early prediction of AP severity. Purpose To develop a contrast-enhanced (CE) MRI-based radiomics model for the early prediction of AP severity. Study type Retrospective. Subjects A total of 259 early AP patients were divided into two cohorts, a training cohort (99 nonsevere, 81 severe), and a validation cohort (43 nonsevere, 36 severe). Field strength/sequence 3.0T, T1 -weighted CE-MRI. Assessment Radiomics features were extracted from the portal venous-phase images. The "Boruta" algorithm was used for feature selection and a support vector machine model was established with optimal features. The MR severity index (MRSI), the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II, and the bedside index for severity in acute pancreatitis (BISAP) were calculated to predict the severity of AP. Statistical tests Independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact tests, Boruta algorithm, receiver operating characteristic analysis, DeLong test. Results Eleven potential features were chosen to develop the radiomics model. In the training cohort, the area under the curve (AUC) of the radiomics model, APACHE II, BISAP, and MRSI were 0.917, 0.750, 0.744, and 0.749, and the P value of AUC comparisons between the radiomics model and scoring systems were all less than 0.001. In the validation cohort, the AUC of the radiomics model, APACHE II, BISAP, and MRSI were 0.848, 0.725, 0.708, and 0.719, respectively, and the P value of AUC comparisons were 0.96 (radiomics vs. APACHE II), 0.40 (radiomics vs. BISAP), and 0.46 (radiomics vs. MRSI). Data conclusion The radiomics model had good performance in the early prediction of AP severity. Level of evidence 3 Technical Efficacy Stage: 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2020;51:397-406.

Purpose To determine whether gross tumour volume (GTV) of adenocarcinoma of oesophagogastric junction (AOG) measured on fat-suppression T2-weighted imaging (FS-T2WI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) correlates with regional lymph node metastasis and N stage. Materials and methods The study was approved by the institutional ethics committee, and written informed consent was obtained. Forty-six patients with AOG underwent preoperative magnetic resonance scans including FS-T2WI and DWI with b-values of 500 and 800 s/mm2. GTV was measured on FS-T2WI and DWI. Statistical analyses were performed to determine association of GTV with N stage. Results Univariate analysis showed GTV measured on FS-T2WI and DWI with b-values of 500 and 800 s/mm2 were correlated with lymph node metastasis (all Ps Conclusion There is a trend toward an increase in GTV obtained on FS-T2WI and DWI sequences with increasing N stage.

BackgroundIt is difficult to identify pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and mass-forming chronic pancreatitis (MFCP) lesions through conventional CT or MR examination. As an innovative image analysis method, radiomics may possess potential clinical value in identifying PDAC and MFCP. To develop and validate radiomics models derived from multiparametric MRI to distinguish pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and mass-forming chronic pancreatitis (MFCP) lesions.MethodsThis retrospective study included 119 patients from two independent institutions. Patients from one institution were used as the training cohort (51 patients with PDAC and 13 patients with MFCP), and patients from the other institution were used as the testing cohort (45 patients with PDAC and 10 patients with MFCP). All the patients had pathologically confirmed results, and preoperative MRI was performed. Four feature sets were extracted from T1-weighted imaging (T1WI), T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), and the artery (A) and portal (P) phases of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, and the corresponding radiomics models were established. Several clinical characteristics were used to discriminate PDAC and MFCP lesions, and clinical model was established. The results of radiologists’ evaluation were compared with pathology and radiomics models. Univariate analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator algorithm were performed for feature selection, and a support vector machine was used for classification. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied to assess the model discrimination.ResultsThe areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) for the T1WI, T2WI, A and, P and clinical models were 0.893, 0.911, 0.958, 0.997 and 0.516 in the primary cohort, and 0.882, 0.902, 0.920, 0.962 and 0.649 in the validation cohort, respectively. All radiomics models performed better than clinical model and radiologists’ evaluation both in the training and testing cohorts by comparing the AUC of various models, all PConclusionsThe radiomics models based on multiparametric MRI have the potential ability to classify PDAC and MFCP lesions.

BACKGROUND: Prediction of lymph node status in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is critical for clinical decision making. In clinical practice, computed tomography (CT) has been frequently used to assist in the preoperative staging of ESCC. Texture analysis can provide more information to reflect potential biological heterogeneity based on CT. A nomogram for the preoperative diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in patients with resectable ESCC has been previously developed. However, to the best of our knowledge, no reports focus on developing CT radiomics features to discriminate ESCC patients with regional lymph node metastasis (RLNM) and non-regional lymph node metastasis (NRLNM). We, therefore, aimed to develop CT radiomics models to predict lymph node metastasis (LNM) in advanced ESCC and to discriminate ESCC between RLNM and NRLNM. METHODS: This study enrolled 334 patients with pathologically confirmed advanced ESCC, including 152 patients without LNM and 182 patients with LNM, and 103 patients with RLNM and 79 patients NRLNM. Radiomics features were extracted from CT data for each patient. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) model and independent samples t-tests or Mann-Whitney U tests were exploited for dimension reduction and selection of radiomics features. Optimal radiomics features were chosen using multivariable logistic regression analysis. The discriminating performance was assessed by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and accuracy. RESULTS: The radiomics features were developed based on multivariable logistic regression and were significantly associated with LNM status in both the training and validation cohorts (P

Li-Hua Deng,1,2 Hai Jiang,1 Fu-Lin Lu,1 Han-Wei Wang,1 Yu Pu,1 Chang-Qiang Wu,1 Hong-Jie Tang,3 Ye Xu,4 Tian-Wu Chen,1 Jiang Zhu,1 Cheng-Yi Shen,1 Xiao-Ming Zhang1 1Medical Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province and School of Medical Imaging, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, 637000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Radiology, First People’s Hospital of Neijiang, Neijiang 641000, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Radiology, Nanchong Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchong 637000, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Radiology, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 401122, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Chang-Qiang Wu; Xiaoming ZhangSichuan Key Laboratory of Medical Imaging and School of Medical Imaging, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, 234th Fujiang Road, Nanchong 637000, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-13990723836Email wucq1984@163.com; zhangxm@nsmc.edu.cnObjective: PEGylated superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) is the most promising alternatives to gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) in MRI. This paper is to explore the imaging effects of PEGylated SPIO, which is influenced by particle sizes and surface polyethylene glycol (PEG) coating, using as MRI contrast agents at different magnetic field intensities.Methods: Firstly, nine PEGylated monocrystalline SPIO nanoparticles with different nanocrystal sizes and different molecular weights PEG coating were prepared, and then physical and biological properties were analyzed. Finally, MRI imaging in vivo was performed to observe the imaging performance.Results: Nine PEGylated monocrystalline SPIO nanoparticles have good relaxivities, serum stability, and biosecurity. At the same time, they show different imaging characteristics at different magnetic field intensities. Eight-nanometer SPIO@PEG5k is an effective T2 contrast agent at 3.0 T (r2/r1 = 14.0), is an ideal T1-T2 dual-mode contrast agent at 1.5 T (r2/r1 = 6.52), and is also an effective T1 contrast agent at 0.5 T (r2/r1 = 2.49), while 4-nm SPIO@PEG5k is a T1-T2 dual-mode contrast agent at 3.0 T (r2/r1 = 5.24), and is a useful T1 contrast agent at 0.5 T (r2/r1 = 1.74) and 1.5 T (r2/r1 = 2.85). MRI studies in vivo at 3.0 T further confirm that 4-nm SPIO@PEG5k displays excellent T1-T2 dual-mode contrast enhancement, whereas 8-nm SPIO@PEG5k only displays T2 contrast enhancement.Conclusion: PEGylated SPIOs with different nanocrystal sizes and PEG coating can be used as T1, T2, or T1-T2 dual-mode contrast agents to meet the clinical demands of MRI at specific magnetic fields.Keywords: magnetic resonance imaging, contrast agents, superparamagnetic iron oxide, polyethylene glycol

Objective: To explore discrepancy in CT manifestations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients outside Wuhan between cases with a history of exposure to Wuhan and with the second-generation infection.Methods: Twenty-two patients with confirmed COVID-19 from two hospitals in Nanchong outside Wuhan were enrolled. All patients underwent initial and follow-up computed tomography after admission, and were divided into two groups. Group A and B were composed of 15 patients with a history of exposure to Wuhan and 7 with the second-generation infection in Nanchong, respectively. Initial CT features including extent score and density score between groups were statistically compared.Results: All patients in group A had abnormal CT findings while 3 of 7 patients in group B had. Patients with abnormal CT findings were more frequent in group A than in group B (P < 0.05). On initial CT, pure ground glass opacity (GGO), and GGO with consolidation and/or other abnormalities were found in 20% (3/15) and 80% (12/15) patients in group A, respectively, while 1 (14.3%), 2 (28.6%) and 4 (57.1%) had pure GGO, GGO with focal consolidation, and normal CT appearances in Group B, respectively. Patients with extent and density scores of ≥5 were more frequent in group A than in group B (Ps < 0.01). Additionally, 3 of 4 (75%) patients with normal initial CT findings had focal pure GGO lesions on follow-up CT.Conclusion: The COVID-19 in patients with a history of exposure to Wuhan can be severer than with the second-generation infection on CT.

Purpose To build a radiomics model of liver contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) to predict hepatic encephalopathy secondary to Hepatitis B related cirrhosis. Materials and Methods This study consisted of 304 consecutive patients with first-diagnosed hepatitis B related cirrhosis. 212 and 92 patients were randomly computer-generated into training and testing cohorts, among which 38 and 21 patients endured HE, respectively. 356 radiomics features of liver were extracted from portal venous-phase CT data, and 3 clinical features were collected from medical record. After data were standardized by Z-score, we used least absolute shrinkage and selection operator to choose useful radiomics features. Ultimately, three predictive models including a radiomics model, a clinical model and an integrated model of radiomics and clinical features were built by analysis of R-software. Predictive performance was tested by multivariable logistic regression, and evaluated by area under receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC), and accuracy. Results 19 radiomics features of liver CT were selected. The selected radiomics features and 3 relevant clinical features were applied to develop a radiomics model, a clinical model, and an integrated model of both radiomics and clinical features. The integrated model showed better performance than the radiomics model or clinical model to predict HE (AUC = 0.94 vs. 0.91 or 0.76, and 0.87 vs. 0.86 or 0.73; accuracy = 0.93 vs. 0.89 or 0.83, and 0.83 vs. 0.84 or 0.77) in the training and testing cohorts, respectively. Conclusion The integrated model of radiomics and clinical features could well predict HE secondary to hepatitis B related cirrhosis.

Background: In December 2019, a cluster of patients associated with a seafood wholesale market was confirmed having infected the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Wuhan, China. As of Feb 11, 2020, 43144 cases of the 2019-nCoV infection have been confirmed in the world, and person-to-person transmission has been recognized. To our knowledge, there are no reports regarding the 2019-nCoV pneumonia infected by cluster transmission within a family. The amount of close contact suspect was increasing. We reported cases of family cluster transmission of the 2019-nCoV infection, showing the differences in computed tomography (CT) manifestations and symptoms between patients with and without history of exposure to the epidemic area (Wuhan).Case Presentation: A 48-year-old man was presented to the hospital in Jan 30, 2020 with a 2-day history of low fever and chill. He had traveled to Wuhan City of Hubei Province of China 12 days before, and was confirmed having the 2019-nCoV infection based on his positive CT manifestations, clinical signs, and real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction results. The other three members of his family without history of exposure to the epidemic area (Wuhan) were subsequently identified having the 2019-nCoV transmissive infection based on the positive findings of real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction, but they did not have abnormal CT manifestations and clinical signs.Conclusion: For patients who have history of exposure to the epidemic area (Wuhan), the 2019-nCoV infected pneumonia can be identified by real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction testing and chest CT together with the symptoms. But for patients without exposure to the epidemic area, the 2019-nCoV infection can be confirmed by real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction testing and history of close contact with confirmed patients who have history of exposure to the epidemic area.