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Background Aortic wall calcification shows strong promise as a cardiovascular risk factor. While useful for visual enhancement of vascular tissue, enhancement creates heterogeneity between scans with and without contrast. We evaluated the relationship between aortic calcification in routine abdominal computed tomography scans (CT) with and without contrast. Methods Inclusion was limited to those with abdominal CT-scans with and without contrast enhancement within 120 days. Analytic Morphomics, a semi-automated computational image processing system, was used to provide standardized, granular, anatomically indexed measurements of aortic wall calcification from abdominal CT-scans. Aortic calcification area (ACA) and aortic wall calcification percent (ACP) and were the outcomes of interest. Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship of aortic measurements. Models were further controlled for age and sex. Stratification of measurements by vertebral level was also performed. Results A positive association was observed for non-contrast calcification in ACP β 0.74 (95% CI 0.72, 0.76) and ACA β 0.44 (95% 0.43, 0.45). Stratified results demonstrated the highest coefficient of determination at L2 for percent and L3 for area models [R2 0.91 (ACP) 0.74 (ACA)]. Adjusted lumber-level associations between non-contrast and contrast measurements ranged from (β 0.69–0.82) in ACP and (β 0.37–0.54) in ACA. Conclusion A straightforward correction score for comparison of abdominal aortic calcification measurements in contrast-enhanced and non-contrast scans is discussed. Correction of aortic calcification from CT scans can reduce scan heterogeneity and will be instrumental in creating larger cardiovascular cohorts as well as cardiovascular risk surveillance programs.

Introduction: While preoperative bone health optimization is typical in the fragile population, objective assessment is limited. Among the aged, localized discordance in bone loss is prevalent and may not be assessed properly with traditional diagnostic measures. Etiology for bone loss discordance is unknown, but may be attributed to aging, disease state, habitus, or activity. This study investigated the association between body composition measures and common fragility fractures. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that each different fracture outcome would associate differently with measures of body composition. Methods: The Fragility Fracture Clinic at the University of Michigan provides comprehensive care to promote bone health, accelerate healing, and reduce fracture risk in those with and at-risk for fractures. Participants (N=344) included those who enrolled at the clinic between 2013 and 2020 and received an abdomen and/or pelvis computed tomography (CT) scan up to 120 days prior to initial enrollment date. Fracture categorizations included acute vs. non-acute, intensity (high vs. low energy), and location (thoracic vs. lumbar vertebral). Retrospective CT-scans were obtained from the University of Michigan Picture Archive and Communication System. Analytic Morphomics was used to obtain granular vertebral-indexed measurements of vertebral bone density, fascia, adipose tissue, muscle, vasculature, and interior body dimensions. Relevant measures include bone mineral density (BMD) [vertebral body trabecular bone density in Hounsfield Units (HU)], lower muscle group density in HU (DMG) (cross sectional area of DMG in HU range of 31-100), cortical bone density [anterior cortical half-maximum (in HU)], and fascial width (in mm). Measurements were divided by their standard deviation to ease interpretation of odds ratios. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationship between body measures and fracture type. Coefficients are reported as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). An alpha level of 0.05 determine statistical significance. Results: Associations were observed between acute fracture and BMD at L3 [OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.36-0.85]; high energy fracture and DMG at L3 [OR 2.08, 1.05-4.64]; low energy fracture and BMD at T8 [OR 0.39, 0.17-0.81]; thoracic vertebral fractures and BMD at T11 [OR 0.39, 0.17-0.81], cortical bone density at T11 [OR 0.64, 0.40-0.95], and fascial width at L4 [OR 0.67, 0.43-0.98]; lumbar vertebral fracture and BMD at L3 [OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.20-0.88]. Conclusion: Body composition measures uniquely associated with fracture outcomes. Lower vertebral trabecular bone density was associated with acute, high energy, thoracic vertebral, and lumbar vertebral fractures; lower lean muscle with high energy fractures; cortical bone density and facial (i.e. visceral cavity) width with thoracic vertebral fractures.

Introduction: Aortic calcification can be utilized to assess cardiovascular risk. While contrast is useful for vascular enhancement in diagnostic imaging, enhancement creates heterogeneity between post and non-contrast scans and limits their direct comparability. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that post and non-contrast aortic calcification measures will correlate, and a correction score can be developed for statistical comparability. Methods: Retrospective CT-scans were obtained from the University of Michigan. Participants (N=330) received abdominal scans with and without contrast enhancement within 120 calendar days. Analytic Morphomics was used to obtain vertebral-indexed measurements of aortic calcium area, and aortic wall obfuscation percentage. Calcification was specifically identified as regions with a given morphology and pixel value five standard deviations above the defined central lumen zone. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression were used to explain the relationship between aortic measurements with and without contrast. Regressions include calcification percent (Model 1), and area (Model 2). Independent variables were non-contrast measurements and dependent variables were contrast measurements, age, and sex. Results: Correlations of calcification percent ranged from 0.86 at T11 and 0.94 and L2. Correlations of calcification area ranged from 0.66 at T12 to 0.84 at L3. In Model 1, for every percent increase in post-contrast calcification, non-contrast calcification percent increased by 11% (β=1.11, p Conclusion: In conclusion, this research proposes a correction score for comparisons of abdominal aortic calcification measurements in post-contrast and non-contrast scans.

Patient selection for critical care admission must balance patient safety with optimal resource allocation. This study aimed to determine the relationship between critical care admission, and postoperative mortality after abdominal surgery.This prespecified secondary analysis of a multicentre, prospective, observational study included consecutive patients enrolled in the DISCOVER study from UK and Republic of Ireland undergoing major gastrointestinal and liver surgery between October and December 2014. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore associations between critical care admission (planned and unplanned) and mortality, and inter-centre variation in critical care admission after emergency laparotomy.Of 4529 patients included, 37.8% (n=1713) underwent planned critical care admissions from theatre. Some 3.1% (n=86/2816) admitted to ward-level care subsequently underwent unplanned critical care admission. Overall 30-day mortality was 2.9% (n=133/4519), and the risk-adjusted association between 30-day mortality and critical care admission was higher in unplanned [odds ratio (OR): 8.65, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.51-19.97) than planned admissions (OR: 2.32, 95% CI: 1.43-3.85). Some 26.7% of patients (n=1210/4529) underwent emergency laparotomies. After adjustment, 49.3% (95% CI: 46.8-51.9%, P0.001) were predicted to have planned critical care admissions, with 7% (n=10/145) of centres outside the 95% CI.After risk adjustment, no 30-day survival benefit was identified for either planned or unplanned postoperative admissions to critical care within this cohort. This likely represents appropriate admission of the highest-risk patients. Planned admissions in selected, intermediate-risk patients may present a strategy to mitigate the risk of unplanned admission. Substantial inter-centre variation exists in planned critical care admissions after emergency laparotomies.

Purpose Malnutrition in children is defined by international guidelines as the age-adjusted Z-score for weight or BMI. However, weights can be misleading in children with HF because of fluid retention leading to misclassification of malnutrition level. We sought to estimate the prevalence of sarcopenic malnutrition in pediatric HF patients by quantifying objectively muscle wasting (sarcopenia) relative to age-adjusted normative data for children. Methods All children listed for HT between 2012 and 2017 who underwent thoracic CT as part of transplant surgical planning were identified using a hospital database. The skeletal muscle index (SMI) was defined as the cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle at L3 index to patient, a known predictor of total muscle mass. Age adjusted Z-scores were calculated using normative data from the University of Michigan. Mild, moderate and severe were defined by cut-off Z-scores of -2 and -3, respectively. Results Among 28 children listed for HT, the median age was 10 (IQR 6, 13) years, the median weight was 26 (18, 40) kg, 39% were female, 82% had congenital heart disease. By ASPEN guidelines, the prevalence of mild, moderate and severe malnutrition was 14%, 29% and 25%. The median SMI was 39 cm2/m2 (Z-score, -1.7); the prevalence of sarcopenia by Z-score was 36%, 25% and 10% (figure) (P Conclusion Muscle wasting is common in children with advanced heart failure and can be profound. Conventional definitions for malnutrition in children may misclassify malnutrition severity in children with HF. Normative curves may be helpful for understanding the severity of muscle wasting in children with HF, and may help to guide nutritional replacement.

Background High-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX) is used to treat primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), but potential differences in MTX clearance (CL) due to obesity have not been studied. We characterized the relationship between HD-MTX CL and computed tomography (CT)-generated body composition (morphomic), body size descriptors, and laboratory measurements in a cohort of obese and non-obese patients with PCNSL. Methods Medical records from adult patients with PCNSL treated with HD-MTX over a 10-year period were queried. Individuals with CT data within 30 days of the first cycle of treatment were included. Population pharmacokinetic analysis was performed using a 2-compartment base structural model. We specifically compared body surface area (BSA) to standard body size, morphomic, and renal function estimation methods as covariates of HD-MTX CL. Results The final data set consisted of non-obese (n=45) and obese (n=28) patients with 291 observations (3-7 samples per patient) with a mean (standard deviation) weight of 69.8 (11.6) kg and 104 (14.9) kg, respectively (p=0.0001). Vertebral body height was more informative than BSA of MTX CL. Similarly, a CL model incorporating age, albumin, and serum creatinine was more informative than kidney function equations and body size. The final model of MTX CL was based on age, albumin, serum creatinine, and vertebral body height. Conclusions Common clinical variables coupled with vertebral body height are more predictive of first cycle MTX CL than BSA, alternate body size descriptors, and commonly used kidney function equations.

Introduction: Coronary calcification scores (CAC) scores are established predictors of coronary atherosclerosis and are useful, independent measures of cardiovascular risk. More recently, medical image based phenotyping has gained traction in the medical literature for cardiovascular and other disease processes. CAC scores are limiting as they are only obtained when a physician suspects cardiovascular disease, are expensive, and only capture data relative to the heart. Routine clinical tomography (CT) scans can be processed using Analytic Morphomics to obtain quantified calcification in the descending aorta. Calcification of the descending aorta can be quantified through processing of routine clinical CT. We hypothesize that CT-based morphometric assessment of calcification in the descending aorta will be a useful approximation of the CAC score. Methods: Analysis was performed on 210 participants who had a CAC score within 30 days of a chest and/or abdominal CT. The scans were retrospectively obtained from the University of Michigan radiology database. Processing of CT images was performed with Analytic Morphomics, a semi-automated system for obtaining granular measurements of body composition recorded using a vertebral level coordinate system. The data capture included aortic segmentation and quantification of calcification. Aortic wall calcification percent was established at each vertebral level. Kendall’s correlations, averaged across 100 bootstrapped samples, establishes relationships of aortic wall calcification and CAC score. Results: A boxplot reporting Kendall’s correlation coefficients at each vertebral level are reported in Figure 1. Correlations among CAC and aortic calcification are stronger at lower vertebral levels. Correlations were significant (α Conclusion: Providing a granular, segmented assessment of aortic calcification from routine CT scans may provide an approximate measure of CAC. This aortic calcification approach may identify patients at risk for cardiovascular events, who would not have otherwise been identified, or reduce unnecessary radiation exposure by ruling out the need for a CAC scan. This may reduce financial cost of healthcare and the emotional burden on patients and their families.

e18071 Background: Neuropathy is a common adverse event requiring dose reduction or regimen change in patients receiving platinum-taxane chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. Our aim was to determine whether specific biomarkers, such as skeletal muscle, visceral and subcutaneous fat cross-sectional areas, measured using computerized tomography (CT), were associated with the development of neuropathy. Analytic Morphomics, a semi-automated image analysis method, has been used to predict oncologic outcomes with immunotherapy and to identify patients at higher risk for postoperative complications from major cancer surgeries. We hypothesized that patients who required dose reductions or regimen changes would have CT imaging findings that distinguished them from their counterparts who did not require dose reduction or regimen change. Methods: All patients at our institution diagnosed with high-grade ovarian carcinoma between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2018 were identified retrospectively. Analytic Morphomics was used to extract measures of body composition from CT images at the level of the third lumbar vertebra. Demographic and clinical characteristics were abstracted from the electronic medical record. We analyzed several binary outcomes (neuropathy, delay in chemotherapy, or dose reduction by cycle 1, 3 or 6) and used unpaired, two-tailed t-tests to compare means between each outcome group at each timepoint. Results: Of 156 patients screened for the study, 138 patients were included and had pre-treatment CT scans available and completed six cycles of platinum-taxane chemotherapy. Patients who developed neuropathy in any of the six cycles, or had a change in their chemotherapy regimen by cycle six, had higher mean visceral fat area than those who did not develop neuropathy. This finding was statistically significant throughout three cycles (p = 0.023) and six cycles (p = 0.030). Conclusions: Increased visceral fat on CT imaging was significantly associated with a higher incidence of neuropathy and change in chemotherapy regimen in patients undergoing primary platinum-taxane chemotherapy for ovarian carcinoma. Weight and BMI did not have a significant association with development of neuropathy, dose reduction, or treatment delay. Further study is needed to determine if dose reductions or regimen changes due to neuropathy can be better predicted using morphomics.

Sarcopenia is defined as the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function associated with aging. Muscle mass can be reliably and accurately quantified using clinical CT scans but reference measurements are lacking, particularly in healthy US populations. Two-phase CT scans from healthy kidney donors (age 18-40) at the University of Michigan between 1999-2010 were utilized. Muscle mass was quantified using two thoracic and two lumbar muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) measures. Indexed measurements were computed as area divided by height-squared. Paired analyses of non-contrast and contrast phases and different Hounsfield Unit (HU) ranges for muscle were conducted to determine their effect on CSA muscle measures. We report the means, standard deviations, and 2SD sarcopenia cutoffs from this population. Healthy population CSA (cm2) cutoffs for N=604 males/females respectively were: 34.7/20.9 (T12 Dorsal Muscle), 91.5/55.9 (T12 Skeletal Muscle), 141.7/91.2 (L3 Skeletal Muscle), 23.5/14.3 (L4 Total Psoas Area), and 23.4/14.3 (L4 Psoas Muscle Area). Height-indexed CSA (cm2/m2) cutoffs for males/females respectively were: 10.9/7.8 (T12 Dorsal Muscle), 28.7/20.6 (T12 Skeletal Muscle), 44.6/34.0 (L3 Skeletal Muscle), 7.5/5.2 (L4 Total Psoas Area), and 7.4/5.2 (L4 Psoas Muscle Area). We confirmed that a mask of -29 to 150 HU is optimal and shows no significant difference between contrast-enhanced and non-contrast CT scan CSA measurements. We quantified reference values for lumbar and thoracic muscle CSA measures in a healthy US population. We defined the effect of IV contrast and different HU ranges for muscle. Combined, these results facilitate the extraction of clinically valuable data from the large numbers of existing scans performed for medical indications.

Antibiotics such as vancomycin are empirically dosed on the basis of body weight, which may not be optimal across the expanding adult body size distribution. Our aim was to compare the relationships between morphomic parameters generated from computed tomography images to conventional body size metrics as predictors of vancomycin pharmacokinetics (PK). This single-center retrospective study included 300 patients with 1,622 vancomycin concentration (52% trough) measurements. Bayesian estimation was used to compute individual vancomycin volume of distribution of the central compartment (Vc) and clearance (CL). Approximately 45% of patients were obese with an overall median (5th, 95th percentile) weight and body mass index of 87.2 (54.7, 123) kg and 28.8 (18.9, 43.7) kg/m 2 , respectively. Morphomic parameters of body size such as body depth, total body area, and torso volume of the twelfth thoracic through fourth lumbar vertebrae (T12 to L4) correlated with Vc. The relationship of vancomycin Vc was poorly predicted by body size but was stronger with T12-to-L4 torso volume (coefficient of determination [ R 2 ] = 0.11) than weight ( R 2 = 0.04). No relationships between vancomycin CL and traditional body size metrics could be discerned; however, relationships with skeletal muscle volume and total psoas area were found. Vancomycin CL independently correlated with total psoas area and inversely correlated with age. Thus, vancomycin CL was significantly related to total psoas area over age ( R 2 = 0.23, P < 0.0001). This proof-of-concept study suggests a potential role for translation of radiographic information into parameters predictive of drug pharmacokinetics. Prediction of individual antimicrobial pharmacokinetic parameters using analytic morphomics has the potential to improve antimicrobial dose selection and outcomes of obese patients.

Prehabilitation has been shown to improve postoperative outcomes in a variety of patient populations undergoing major operations. The feasibility, generalizability, and value of broad implementation of prehabilitation outside the research environment are unknown.Medicare claims data from 2014 to 2017 were used to conduct a multicenter (21 Michigan hospitals) pragmatic cohort study. Patients and controls were followed for the duration of their index surgical hospitalization and for 90 days postoperatively. Medicare beneficiaries older than 18 years who underwent inpatient surgical procedures at a participating hospital during the study time period were eligible for inclusion. The prehabilitation program involved a home-based walking program with supplementary education on nutrition, smoking cessation, and psychological preparation for surgical procedure. Data were analyzed with an intention-to-treat approach using t-tests and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Propensity score matching used comorbidities and demographic factors to match controls to patients in a 2:1 manner with an exact match required for operation type.Patients (n = 523) and controls (n = 1,046) had no significant differences in demographic factors or comorbidities. Patients had significantly shorter median hospital length of stay (6 vs 7 days; p0.01) than controls and were more likely to be discharged to home (65.6% vs 57.0%, p0.01). Total episode payments were significantly lower for patients compared with controls ($31,641 vs $34,837; p = 0.04). Patients had significantly lower post-acute care payments for skilled nursing facility ($941 vs $1,566; p = 0.02) and home health ($829 vs $960; p = 0.03) services.Participation in a prehabilitation program in Michigan was associated with shorter length of stay and lower total episode payments after operation. Payers and hospitals should invest in the implementation of simple home-based prehabilitation programs.

Background: Older patients account for nearly half of the United States surgical volume, and age alone is insufficient to predict surgical fitness. Various metrics exist for risk stratification, but little work has been done to describe the association between measures. We aimed to determine whether analytic morphomics, a novel objective risk assessment tool, correlates with functional measures currently recommended in the preoperative evaluation of older patients. Materials and methods: We retrospectively identified 184 elective general surgery patients aged >70 y with both a preoperative computed tomography scan and Vulnerable Elderly Surgical Pathways and outcomes Assessment within 90 d of surgery. We used analytic morphomics to calculate trunk muscle size (or total psoas area [TPA]) and univariate logistic regression to assess the relationship between TPA and domains of geriatric function mobility, basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADLs), and cognitive ability. Results: Greater TPA was inversely correlated with impaired mobility (odds ratio [OR] ¼ 0.46, 95%confidenceinterval [CI] 0.25e0.85,P ¼0.013).Greater TPA was associated with decreased oddsofdeficitinanybasicADLs(OR ¼0.36perstandarddeviationunitincreaseinTPA,95%CI 0.15e0.87,P

Sarcopenia is associated with poor outcomes after major surgery. There are currently no data regarding the financial implications of providing care for these high-risk patients.We identified 1,593 patients within the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative (MSQC) who underwent elective major general or vascular surgery at a single institution between 2006 and 2011. Patient sarcopenia, determined by lean psoas area (LPA), was derived from preoperative CT scans using validated analytic morphomic methods. Financial data including hospital revenue and direct costs were acquired for each patient through the hospital's finance department. Financial data were adjusted for patient and procedural factors using multiple linear regression methods, and Mann-Whitney U test was used for significance testing.After controlling for patient and procedural factors, decreasing LPA was independently associated with increasing payer costs ($6,989.17 per 1,000 mm(2) LPA, p0.001). The influence of LPA on payer costs increased to $26,988.41 per 1,000 mm(2) decrease in LPA (p0.001) in patients who experienced a postoperative complication. Further, the covariate-adjusted hospital margin decreased by $2,620 per 1,000 mm(2) decrease in LPA (p0.001) such that average negative margins were observed in the third of patients with the smallest LPA.Sarcopenia is associated with high payer costs and negative margins after major surgery. Although postoperative complications are universally expensive to payers and providers, sarcopenic patients represent a uniquely costly patient demographic. Given that sarcopenia may be remediable, efforts to attenuate costs associated with major surgery should focus on targeted preoperative interventions to optimize these high risk patients for surgery.

The Michigan Surgical Home and Optimization Program is a structured, home-based, preoperative training program targeting physical, nutritional, and psychological guidance. The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in this program was associated with reduced hospital duration of stay and health care costs.We conducted a retrospective, single center, cohort study evaluating patients who participated in the Michigan Surgical Home and Optimization Program and subsequently underwent major elective general and thoracic operative care between June 2014 and December 2015. Propensity score matching was used to match program participants to a control group who underwent operative care prior to program implementation. Primary outcome measures were hospital duration of stay and payer costs. Multivariate regression was used to determine the covariate-adjusted effect of program participation.A total of 641 patients participated in the program; 82% were actively engaged in the program, recording physical activity at least 3 times per week for the majority of the program; 182 patients were propensity matched to patients who underwent operative care prior to program implementation. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that participation in the Michigan Surgical Home and Optimization Program was associated with a 31% reduction in hospital duration of stay (P .001) and 28% lower total costs (P .001) after adjusting for covariates.A home-based, preoperative training program decreased hospital duration of stay, lowered costs of care, and was well accepted by patients. Further efforts will focus on broader implementation and linking participation to postoperative complications and rigorous patient-reported outcomes.

Background The purpose is to investigate the clinical significance of body morphomics changes in stage III–IV oropharyngeal cancer patients during concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Methods Fifty patients who underwent CRT were selected for body composition analyses by either availability of pre/post treatment DEXA scans or a novel CT-based approach of body morphomics analysis (BMA). BMA changes (lean psoas and total psoas area) were compared to total lean body mass changes by DEXA scans using two-sample t tests. Pearson correlation was used to compare the BMA measures to head and neck specific quality of life outcomes. Cox hazards model was used to predict mortality and tumor recurrence. Results Clinically significant declines in total psoas area and lean body mass of similar magnitude were observed in both BMA and DEXA cohorts after CRT. Loss of psoas area (P

Sarcopenia, defined as a decrease in skeletal muscle mass and strength, is an important risk factor in clinical medicine associated with frailty, mortality, and worse surgical and nonsurgical outcomes. Conventional measures of sarcopenia rely on the subjective "eyeball test" and do not adequately describe risk. Computed tomography (CT) imaging studies may be used to objectively measure sarcopenia and may be used for surgical risk stratification and identification of patients for inclusion in a novel clinical remediation program.We describe results observed in the general, vascular, and liver transplant surgery populations determined by analytic morphomics--an analysis of CT scans in a semiautomated process using MATLAB v13.0. A perioperative optimization program has been implemented with the objective of remediating sarcopenia through improvement of patient mental and physical status prior to surgery.Using analytic morphomics, we have noted significantly higher cost and increased rates of mortality and surgical complications among sarcopenic patients. The training program shows initial success, and among participating patients, we have observed reductions in payer and hospital costs and a decrease in length of hospital stay for patients following surgery.Through analytic morphomics, we are able to quantify markers of sarcopenia and identify patients at risk for increased mortality and poor surgical outcomes. Early identification of patients offers us the opportunity to remediate sarcopenia through perioperative training and support. Participating patients spend less time in the hospital and have lower healthcare costs. This program has the potential to improve the perioperative patient experience and ease financial burdens.

Background Surgeons often face difficult decisions in selecting which patients can tolerate major surgical procedures. Although recent studies suggest the potential for trunk muscle size, as measured on preoperative imaging, to inform surgical risk, these measures are static and do not account for the effect of the surgery itself. We hypothesize that trunk muscle size will show dynamic changes over the perioperative period, and this change correlates with postoperative mortality risk. Methods A total of 425 patients who underwent inpatient general surgery were identified to have both a 90-d preoperative and a 90-d postoperative abdominal computed tomography scan. The change in trunk muscle size was calculated using analytic morphomic techniques. The primary outcome was 1-y survival. Covariate-adjusted outcomes were assessed using multivariable logistic regression. Results A total of 82.6% patients ( n = 351) experienced a decrease in trunk muscle size in the time between their scans (average 62.1 d). When stratifying patients into tertiles of rate of change in trunk muscle size and adjusting for other covariates, patients in the tertile of the greatest rate loss had significantly increased risk of 1-y mortality than those in the tertile of the least rate loss ( P = 0.002; odds ratio = 3.40 95% confidence interval, 1.55–7.47). The adjusted mortality rate for the tertile of the greatest rate loss was 24.0% compared with 13.3% for the tertile of the least decrease. Conclusions Trunk muscle size changes rapidly in the perioperative period and correlates with mortality. Trunk muscle size may be a critical target for interventional programs focusing on perioperative optimization of the surgical patient.

This study resulted in a model-averaging methodology that predicts crash injury risk using vehicle, demographic, and morphomic variables and assesses the importance of individual predictors. The effectiveness of this methodology was illustrated through analysis of occupant chest injuries in frontal vehicle crashes. The crash data were obtained from the International Center for Automotive Medicine (ICAM) database for calendar year 1996 to 2012. The morphomic data are quantitative measurements of variations in human body 3-dimensional anatomy. Morphomics are obtained from imaging records. In this study, morphomics were obtained from chest, abdomen, and spine CT using novel patented algorithms. A NASS-trained crash investigator with over thirty years of experience collected the in-depth crash data. There were 226 cases available with occupants involved in frontal crashes and morphomic measurements. Only cases with complete recorded data were retained for statistical analysis. Logistic regression models were fitted using all possible configurations of vehicle, demographic, and morphomic variables. Different models were ranked by the Akaike Information Criteria (AIC). An averaged logistic regression model approach was used due to the limited sample size relative to the number of variables. This approach is helpful when addressing variable selection, building prediction models, and assessing the importance of individual variables. The final predictive results were developed using this approach, based on the top 100 models in the AIC ranking. Model-averaging minimized model uncertainty, decreased the overall prediction variance, and provided an approach to evaluating the importance of individual variables. There were 17 variables investigated: four vehicle, four demographic, and nine morphomic. More than 130,000 logistic models were investigated in total. The models were characterized into four scenarios to assess individual variable contribution to injury risk. Scenario 1 used vehicle variables; Scenario 2, vehicle and demographic variables; Scenario 3, vehicle and morphomic variables; and Scenario 4 used all variables. AIC was used to rank the models and to address over-fitting. In each scenario, the results based on the top three models and the averages of the top 100 models were presented. The AIC and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were reported in each model. The models were re-fitted after removing each variable one at a time. The increases of AIC and the decreases of AUC were then assessed to measure the contribution and importance of the individual variables in each model. The importance of the individual variables was also determined by their weighted frequencies of appearance in the top 100 selected models. Overall, the AUC was 0.58 in Scenario 1, 0.78 in Scenario 2, 0.76 in Scenario 3 and 0.82 in Scenario 4. The results showed that morphomic variables are as accurate at predicting injury risk as demographic variables. The results of this study emphasize the importance of including morphomic variables when assessing injury risk. The results also highlight the need for morphomic data in the development of human mathematical models when assessing restraint performance in frontal crashes, since morphomic variables are more "tangible" measurements compared to demographic variables such as age and gender.

Morphometric assessment has emerged as a strong predictor of postoperative morbidity and mortality. However, a gap exists in translating this knowledge to bedside decision making. We introduced a novel measure of patient-centered surgical risk assessment: morphometric age.To investigate the relationship between morphometric age and posttransplant survival.Medical records of recipients of deceased-donor liver transplants (study population) and kidney donors/trauma patients (morphometric age control population).A retrospective cohort study of 348 liver transplant patients and 3313 control patients. We assessed medical records for validated morphometric characteristics of aging (psoas area, psoas density, and abdominal aortic calcification). We created a model (stratified by sex) for a morphometric age equation, which we then calculated for the control population using multivariate linear regression modeling (covariates). These models were then applied to the study population to determine each patient's morphometric age.All analytic steps related to measuring morphometric characteristics were obtained via custom algorithms programmed into commercially available software. An independent observer confirmed all algorithm outputs. Trained assistants performed medical record review to obtain patient characteristics.Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that morphometric age was a significant independent predictor of overall mortality (hazard ratio, 1.03 per morphometric year [95% CI, 1.02-1.04; P .001]) after liver transplant. Chronologic age was not a significant covariate for survival (hazard ratio, 1.02 per year [95% CI, 0.99-1.04; P = .21]). Morphometric age stratified patients at high and low risk for mortality. For example, patients in the middle chronologic age tertile who jumped to the oldest morphometric tertile have worse outcomes than those who jumped to the youngest morphometric tertile (74.4% vs 93.2% survival at 1 year [P = .03]; 45.2% vs 75.0% at 5 years [P = .03]).Morphometric age correlated with mortality after liver transplant with better discrimination than chronologic age. Assigning a morphometric age to potential liver transplant recipients could improve prediction of postoperative mortality risk.

A cornerstone of a surgeon's clinical assessment of suitability for major surgery is best described as the "eyeball test." Preoperative imaging may provide objective measures of this subjective assessment by calculating a patient's morphometric age. Our hypothesis is that morphometric age is a surgical risk factor distinct from chronologic age and comorbidity and correlates with surgical mortality and length of stay.This is a retrospective cohort study within a large academic medical center. Using novel analytic morphomic techniques on preoperative CT scans, a morphometric age was assigned to a random sample of patients having inpatient general and vascular abdominal surgery from 2006 to 2011. The primary outcomes for this study were postoperative mortality (1-year) and length of stay (LOS).The study cohort (n = 1,370) was stratified into tertiles based on morphometric age. The postoperative risk of mortality was significantly higher in the morphometric old age group when compared with the morphometric middle age group (odds ratio 2.42, 95% CI 1.52 to 3.84, p0.001). Morphometric old age patients were predicted to have a LOS 4.6 days longer than the morphometric middle age tertile. Similar trends were appreciated when comparing morphometric middle and young age tertiles. Chronologic age correlated poorly with these outcomes. Furthermore, patients in the chronologic middle age tertile found to be of morphometric old age had significantly inferior outcomes (mortality 21.4% and mean LOS 13.8 days) compared with patients in the chronologic middle age tertile found to be of morphometric young age (mortality 4.5% and mean LOS 6.3 days, p0.001 for both).Preoperative imaging can be used to assign a morphometric age to patients, which accurately predicts mortality and length of stay.

Single water samples were collected in chemically clean 2.5-liter bottles and were analyzed shortly thereafter for total hardness and fluoride content. Total hardness was computed from results of the determinations of calcium, magnesium and iron. After the silica, phosphates, iron, aluminum and manganese had been removed from the water, calcium was determined volumetrically by titration with standard 0.1 iV potassium permanganate solution (2). The results of the calcium analyses were expressed as parts per million Ca++. The analyses for magnesium were made colorimetrically usi g titan yellow (2). The samples were read in a Beckman spectrophotometer * at a wavelength of 525 m/x, and the results were expressed as parts per million Mg++. The phenanthroline method was used for the iron

An in vitro propagation method for coffee using shoot-tip culture has been developed. Shoot tips, either terminal or axillary, were initiated on an agar-solidified medium containing half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) salts, and the following: i-inositol (100 mg/1), thiamine-HCl (0.4 mg/1), pyridoxine-HCl (0.5 mg/1), nicotinic acid (0.5 mg/1), glycine (2.0 mg/1), sucrose (30 g/1), naphthalene-acetic acid (NAA) (0.2 mg/1), and N6-benzyladenine (BA) (3.0 mg/1). Shoot tips grew and developed 2 to 4 leaves in about 3 weeks. The small shoots could be subcultured on the same medium to obtain a multiplication rate of 1.5 to 2.0 shoots every 4 weeks. To optimize in vitro multiplication, the effects of various levels of BA, NAA, MS nitrates, MS FeEDTA, and activated charcoal have been evaluated. Attempts are also being made to root the shoots in vitro.