Search

The present study investigated the effect of low vs high-dietary-Advanced Glycation End products-based diets on oral disposition index-(DIo)-a marker of islet β-cell function and cardiometabolic risks factors in 38-overweight and obese Asian Indian-adults (aged 25–45 years with body-mass-index (BMI) ≥23kg/m2) through 12-week isocaloric crossover feeding trial. Biochemical-measures included-glucose tolerance test (GTT), Insulin assay (0,30 and 120 min), lipid-profile, serum-adiponectin, serum-AGE and serum-Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances-(TBARS) assessed both at baseline and end of each intervention. Generalised linear models showed that low-dAGE diet significantly improved in oral disposition index [Least Square Mean (SE), +0.3 (0.1); p = 0.03] compared to high-dAGE diet. The low-dAGE diet also showed a significant reduction in 30-minutes plasmapost-glucose-challenge-value:(-8.1[3.8] (mg/dl) vs 3.8 [3.8] (mg/dl); p = 0.01), serum-AGEs-(-3.2 [0.2] (μg/ml) vs -0.8 [0.2] (μg/ml); p = <0.0001) compared to high-dAGE diet. In summary, low-dAGE diets exhibited improvement in the insulin-sensitivity and reduction in the inflammatory levels compared to high-dAGE diets. Hence, study first time in India revealed that low dAGE diets could be a potential strategy to reduce diabetes risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐energy computed tomography (MECT) offers the opportunity for advanced visualization, detection, and quantification of select elements (e.g., iodine) or materials (e.g., fat) beyond the capability of standard single‐energy computed tomography (CT). However, the use of MECT requires careful consideration as substantially different hardware and software approaches have been used by manufacturers, including different sets of user‐selected or hidden parameters that affect the performance and radiation dose of MECT. Another important consideration when designing MECT protocols is appreciation of the specific tasks being performed; for instance, differentiating between two different materials or quantifying a specific element. For a given task, it is imperative to consider both the radiation dose and task‐specific image quality requirements. Development of a quality control (QC) program is essential to ensure the accuracy and reproducibility of these MECT applications. Although standard QC procedures have been well established for conventional single‐energy CT, the substantial differences between single‐energy CT and MECT in terms of system implementations, imaging protocols, and clinical tasks warrant QC tests specific to MECT. This task group was therefore charged with developing a systematic QC program designed to meet the needs of MECT applications. In this report, we review the various MECT approaches that are commercially available, including information about hardware implementation, MECT image types, image reconstruction, and postprocessing techniques that are unique to MECT. We address the requirements for MECT phantoms, review representative commercial MECT phantoms, and offer guidance regarding homemade MECT phantoms. We discuss the development of MECT protocols, which must be designed carefully with proper consideration of MECT technology, imaging task, and radiation dose. We then outline specific recommended QC tests in terms of general image quality, radiation dose, differentiation and quantification tasks, and diagnostic and therapeutic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dedicated cone-beam breast computed tomography (CBBCT) using short-scan acquisition is being actively investigated to potentially reduce the radiation dose to the breast.This would require determining the optimal x-ray source trajectory for such short-scan acquisition. Purpose: To quantify the projection angle-dependent normalized glandular dose coefficient (DgNCT) in CBBCT, referred to as angular DgNCT, so that the x-ray ray source trajectory that minimizes the radiation dose to the breast for short-scan acquisition can be determined. Materials and Methods: A cohort of 75 CBBCT clinical datasets was segmented and used to generate three breast models – (I) patient-specific breast with heterogeneous fibroglandular tissue distribution and real breast shape, (II) patient-specific breast shape with homogeneous tissue distribution and matched fibroglandular weight fraction, and (III) homogeneous semi-ellipsoidal breast with patient-specific breast dimensions and matched fibroglandular weight fraction, which corresponds to the breast model used in current radiation dosimetry protocols.For each clinical dataset, the angular DgNCT was obtained at 10 discrete angles, spaced 36° apart, for full-scan, circular, x-ray source trajectory from Monte Carlo simulations. Model III is used for validating the Monte Carlo simulation results.Models II and III are used to determine if breast shape contributes to the observed trends in angular DgNCT. A geometry-based theory in conjunction with center-of-mass (COM) based distribution analysis is used to explain the projection angle-dependent variation in angular DgNCT. Results: The theoretical model predicted that the angular DgNCT will follow a sinusoidal pattern and the amplitude of the sinusoid increases when the centerof- mass of fibroglandular tissue (COMf ) is farther from the center-of-mass of the breast (COMb). It also predicted that the angular DgNCT will be minimized at x-ray source positions complementary to the COMf. The COMf was superior to the COMb in 80% (60/75) of the breasts. From Monte Carlo simulations and for homogeneous breasts (models II and III), the deviation in breast shape from a semi-ellipsoid had minimal effect on angular DgNCT and showed less than 4% variation. From Monte Carlo simulations and for model I, as predicted by our theory, the angular DgNCT followed a sinusoidal pattern with maxima and minima at x-ray source positions superior and inferior to the breast, respectively. For model I, the projection angle-dependent variation in angular DgNCT was 16.4%. Conclusion: The heterogeneous tissue distribution affected the angular DgNCT more than the breast shape. For model I, the angular DgNCT was lowest when the x-ray source was inferior to the breast. Hence, for short-scan CBBCT acquisition with COMb aligned with axis-of -rotation, an x-ray source trajectory inferior to the breast is preferable and such an acquisition spanning 205° can potentially reduce the mean glandular dose by up to 52%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]