Search

The study aimed to develop and validate whether the computed tomography (CT) radiomics analysis is effective in differentiating cardiac tumors and thrombi. For this retrospective study, a radiomics model was developed on the basis of a training dataset of 192 patients (61.9 ± 13.3 years, 90 men) with cardiac masses detected in cardiac CT from January 2010 to September 2019. We constructed three models for discriminating between a cardiac tumor and a thrombus: a radiomics model, a clinical model, which included clinical and conventional CT variables, and a model that combined clinical and radiomics models. In the training dataset, the radiomics model and the combined model yielded significantly higher differentiation performance between cardiac tumors and cardiac thrombi than the clinical model (AUC 0.973 vs 0.870, p < 0.001 and AUC 0.983 vs 0.870, p < 0.001, respectively). In the external validation dataset with 63 patients (59.8 ± 13.2 years, 26 men), the combined model yielded a larger AUC compared to the clinical model (AUC 0.911 vs 0.802, p = 0.037). CT radiomics analysis is effective in differentiating cardiac tumors and thrombi. In conclusion, the combination of clinical, conventional CT, and radiomics features demonstrated an additional benefit in differentiating between cardiac tumor and thrombi compared to clinical data and conventional CT features alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is a common and debilitating condition in children, with limited research on its characteristics and treatment. Therefore, this study aims to describe the characteristics of pediatric patients with CIA and the treatment outcomes of topical minoxidil and L-cystine, medicinal yeast, and pantothenic acid complex-based dietary supplements (CYP). This retrospective cohort study analyzed data from patients who underwent high-dose conditioning chemotherapy followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and were treated with either topical minoxidil or CYP for CIA between January 2011 and January 2022. Among the 70 patients evaluated, 61 (87.1%) experienced clinical improvement. Patients in the groups with superior treatment outcomes received a greater cumulative amount of minoxidil and underwent treatment for a more extended duration (P < 0.05) than those in the other groups. All 70 (100%) patients received topical minoxidil, and 42 (60%) were administered CYP. Hair thickness was significantly higher in the combination therapy group than in the minoxidil monotherapy group (21.4% vs. 9.3%, P = 0.02). However, only 3 (4.3%) patients reported mild and self-limiting adverse events. In conclusion, our study shows that minoxidil and CYP administration represent viable treatment options for pediatric CIA., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The silver migration effect into the metastable phase forms a micro-electric path, to enhance the relative dielectric permittivity of CaCu 3 Ti 4 O 12 ceramics for electronic devices. Controlling the sintering time uniquely develops the metastable phase of as-sintered CaCu 3 Ti 4 O 12 ceramics. A post-heating process that applies the migration of silver into the metastable phase increases the relative dielectric permittivity. At 1 kHz frequency, the relative dielectric permittivity at room temperature of the silver-migrated CaCu 3 Ti 4 O 12 ceramics sintered for 2 h is 565.9 × 10 3 , almost 52 times higher than that of the as-sintered CaCu 3 Ti 4 O 12 ceramics. The selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns of the large and small grains were similar, but differed from those of the metastable region, including the grain boundary of the as-sintered CaCu 3 Ti 4 O 12 ceramics sintered for 2 h by TEM technique. This phenomenon suggests that enabling Ag-migration into the metastable phase develops a micro-electric path that improves the relative dielectric permittivity of CaCu 3 Ti 4 O 12 ceramics.