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Introduction: Bone lesions are sometimes detected on computed tomography studies, and biopsies are performed to evaluate whether these are malignant. The aim of the study is to evaluate whether chemical‐shift imaging (CSI) and diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are more informative than the CT attenuation for predicting malignancy. Methods: Retrospective analysis of 86 patients who underwent both diagnostic CT, CSI MRI and DWI MRI within 6 weeks prior to bone biopsy at a tertiary care academic institution between 01/01/2010 and 03/01/2020. The CT attenuation, signal intensity on in‐phase sequences (SIIP), signal intensity on out‐of‐phase sequences (SIOP), signal intensity ratio (SIR = SIOP/SIIP) and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the lesions over the region of the biopsy tract were measured. Results: A threshold CT attenuation of 157 Hounsfield Units (HU) had a sensitivity of 47.7%, specificity of 83.3% and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.59. A threshold ADC of 793 × 10−6 mm2/s had a sensitivity of 75.8%, specificity of 85.7% and AUC of 0.83 to predict whether a bone biopsy would detect malignancy. A threshold SIR of 0.949 had a sensitivity of 77.8%, specificity of 77.8% and AUC of 0.81 to predict whether a bone biopsy would detect malignancy. ADC (P = 0.029) and SIR (P = 0.009) were significantly better than CT attenuation. There was no predictive difference between SIR and ADC (P = 0.742). Conclusions: The CT attenuation of a lesion is a poor predictor of malignancy in bone lesions. CSI and DWI are significantly better for predicting malignancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the accuracy of PET/CT parameters with CT parameters for directing bone biopsies. Methods: The study was an IRB-approved retrospective study of 388 patients who underwent both 2-[18F] FDG PET/CT and CT within 6 weeks before a bone biopsy. Age, sex, cancer type, lesion length, SUVmax, tumor to liver (T/L) ratio, CT attenuation, difference in CT attenuation between the lesion and normal bone (delta CT attenuation), and the absolute delta CT attenuation were used as predictors. T tests and chi-squared tests were used to compare variables. DeLong's test was used to compare receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: We reviewed the data from 388 patients. Of these, 295 patients had bone lesion biopsies, and 93 patients had bone marrow aspirations/biopsies. Biopsies of larger bone lesions (p = 0.033) and bone lesions with higher SUVmax (p = 0.005) were more likely to show malignancy. For bone lesions, the ROC curve for the SUVmax (AUC = 0.6827) was better than the ROC curves for delta CT attenuation (AUC = 0.5766, p = 0.032) and absolute delta CT attenuation (AUC = 0.5491, p = 0.006), but not significantly better than the ROC curves for CT attenuation (AUC = 0.5894, p = 0.061) and T/L ratio (AUC = 0.6778, p = 0.774). A threshold SUVmax of 5.25 had an accuracy of 0.713, sensitivity of 0.766, and specificity of 0.549 to predict malignancy in bone lesion biopsies. None of these variables predicted malignancy in bone marrow biopsies (p > 0.05 for all). Conclusions: Metabolic 2-[18F]FDG PET/CT parameters have more clinical impact for planning bone biopsies as compared to CT parameters. Key Points: • The 2-[18F]FDG PET/CT measurement (SUVmax) has more clinical impact for planning bone biopsies as compared to CT measurements. • Neither the change in CT attenuation of the lesion relative to normal bone nor the absolute value of this change was a significant predictor of malignancy. • 2-[18F]FDG PET/CT may have clinical benefit and an additional role in directing bone biopsies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZnO/CuS nanocomposite was synthesized by hydrothermal technique using two different sulfur source such as TU = thiourea and TA = thioglycolic acid. Pure ZnO and CuS (TU and TA) nanoparticles were synthesized, and a comparative analysis was performed. X-ray diffraction discloses the average crystalline size of the ZnO/CuS (TU and TA) to be 18 nm and 12 nm, respectively. HR-TEM exhibits a particle size of 27.50 nm and 30.50 nm for ZnO/CuS (TU) and ZnO/CuS (TA). Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis confirms the surface area of ZnO/CuS (TU) to be 1.246 m2/g and ZnO/CuS (TA) to be 11.086 m2/g. The band gaps were estimated to be 3.1 eV for ZnO/CuS (TU) and 1.6 eV and 2.64 eV for ZnO/CuS (TA). The photocatalytic activity of ZnO, ZnO/CuS (TU) and ZnO/CuS (TA) nanocomposites was investigated by the solar irradiation of mordant black 11 dye in an aqueous medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal sulphide CuS and CdS nanoparticles capped with Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) were synthesized by hydrothermal method. Structural, morphological, chemical composition, optical and luminescent properties were evaluated by different analytical techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the CTAB capped metal sulfide nanoparticles reveals the formation of hexagonal structure. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images show that the morphology of the capped copper sulphide samples consists of hexagonal structure and capped cadmium has spherical shape and also confirms the crystalline nature of the particles with distinct lattice fringes. In FTIR spectroscopy, the composition of the CTAB capped CuS and CdS nanoparticles have been confirmed. The analysis of photoluminescence (PL) and optical transition show a red shift due to the reduction of band gap energy and it is attributed to the low defects and high crystallinity. The optical studies indicate that CuS and CdS nanoparticles with CTAB can be suitable for optoelectronic devices and photovoltaic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): (1) To compare the effectiveness of customized exercises with that of standard exercises for the treatment of patients with shoulder disorders. (2) To determine whether four weeks or eight weeks would be needed to see improvement in outcome measures. Design: A single-blinded randomized clinical trial. Setting: An outpatient physical therapy clinic affiliated with an academic institution. Subjects: Thirty patients with shoulder disorders were tested and treated between February 2003 and December 2004. Interventions: Patients were randomized to a customized or standard exercise group. Each patient first underwent a standardized physical therapy assessment. Based on the results of the assessment, a classification was determined and a classification-specific exercise programme was instructed to the patients in the customized exercise group. The standard exercise group, regardless of classification, received preselected standard exercises. Both groups were followed for eight weeks. Main measures: Shoulder range of motion, strength, pain intensity and function were assessed three times (weeks 0, 4 and 8). Results: There were no significant differences between the customized and standard exercise groups in measures of shoulder range of motion, strength, pain intensity and function after four or eight weeks of exercise. Patients in both groups had significant improvements in shoulder strength, pain intensity and function. Significant improvements occurred at week 8, but not at week 4. Conclusion: The customized shoulder exercises did not provide additional benefit to our shoulder patients than the standard exercises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes of this study were to determine inter-tester reliability, one-week test–retest reliability and smallest detectable difference (SDD) of serratus anterior muscle strength and endurance tests. Asymptomatic subjects were tested on an apparatus designed by the investigators. During strength testing, subjects performed isometric contractions recorded by a hand-held dynamometer. For endurance testing, subjects held a dumbbell of 15% of their body weight and performed repetitions until they became fatigued. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for the strength test revealed good inter-tester reliability (ICC 2,3 = .90–.93) and good one-week test–retest reliability (ICC 2,3 = .83–.89). For the endurance test, ICCs showed good inter-tester reliability (ICC 2,1 = .71–.76) but moderate one-week test–retest reliability (ICC 2,1 = .59–.62). The SDDs at 68% confidence level ranged from 22.7 to 39.2 newtons for the strength test, and 11 to 20 repetitions for the endurance test. In summary, the technique used in the study is reliable for quantifying the SA muscle strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Native bees were taxonomically richer in habitats with a higher wildness index. • Higher surface temperatures and citrus crops benefited richer bee communities. • Highlands had lower honeybee abundance and more specialized native bees. • Floral resources were differently used by native bee species and honeybees. • Flower visitation by native bees were higher in zones with high canopy closure. The sustainable provision of pollination services in large regions of the Nearctic and Neotropics usually involves the coexistence of a rich assemblage of native bees and introduced bees in the same agroecosystem. This requires identifying biotic and abiotic conditions that improve the quality of semi-natural habitats surrounding agricultural crops aiming to enhance native bee survival. Here we unravel the contribution of habitat conditions, diversity of flowering plants, and honeybee abundance to the taxonomic diversity, flower visitation rates and functional trait distribution of native bees. We have selected three 1.2 km diameter experimental landscapes in a Mediterranean semi-arid agroecosystem of Central Chile, where wild bees, honeybees, and flowering plants were sampled in 83 10 × 10 m plots. The effects of eleven remote-sensing indices characterizing the habitat conditions, and their interactions with honeybee abundance have been analysed. Native bees were taxonomically richer in semi-natural habitats, with higher surface temperatures and near citrus crops. The flower visitation rates of native bees were positively affected by canopy closure and decreased in sites with a higher terrain slope. Highlands had lower honeybee abundance and native bees were more specialized. We found higher flower visitation rates of native bees on large patches with low abundance of honeybees and small patches with high abundance of honeybees. Visitation rate was also higher in sites with high flowering plant richness and with high abundance of honeybees. These findings suggest that native bees and honeybees differ in their habitat use and flowering resources. This partitioning may enhance, coexistence between these pollinator groups. We suggest that management of Mediterranean agroecosystems be focused on increasing forest canopy closure on the remnants of semi-natural habitats, while maintaining the flower diversity near crops and highlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]