Epididymal metastases as the first sign of a colon cancer recurrence

Metastastic tumours involving the epididymis are rare and most often found in patients with disseminated disease. It is even more unusual when the metastasis of the epididymis is the first sign of tumour recurrence. We report a case of an asymptomatic recurrent colon carcinoma presenting as metastasis in the epididymis. Although metastatic cancer presenting as an intra-scrotal mass is extremely rare, it should be considered as a possibility in patients who present with a mass involving the testicle or epididymis.     

Detection of bioactive peptides including gonadotrophin‐releasing factors (GnRHs) in horse urine using ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC/HRMS)

The use of bioactive peptides as a doping agent in both human and animal sports has become increasingly popular in recent years. As such, methods to control the misuse of bioactive peptides in equine sports have received attention. This paper describes a sensitive accurate mass method for the detection of 40 bioactive peptides and two non‐peptide growth hormone secretagogues (< 2 kDa) at low pg/mL levels in horse urine using ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography‐high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC/HRMS). A simple mixed‐mode cation exchange solid‐phase extraction (SPE) cartridge was employed for the extraction of 42 targets and/or their in vitro metabolites from horse urine. The final extract was analyzed using UHPLC/HRMS in positive electrospray ionization (ESI) mode under both full scan and data independent acquisition (DIA, for MS²). The estimated limits of detection (LoD) for most of the targets could reach down to 10 pg/mL in horse urine. This method was validated for qualitative detection purposes. The validation data, including method specificity, method sensitivity, extraction recovery, method precision, and matrix effect were reported. A thorough in vitro study was also performed on four gonadotrophin‐releasing factors (GnRHs), namely leuprorelin, buserelin, goserelin, and nafarelin, using the S9 fraction isolated from horse liver. The identified in vitro metabolites have been incorporated into the method for controlling the misuse of GnRHs. The applicability of this method was demonstrated by the identification of leuprorelin and one of its metabolites, Leu M4, in urine obtained after intramuscular administration of leuprorelin to a thoroughbred gelding (castrated horse).     

Importance of measurement site on assessment of lesion-specific ischemia and diagnostic performance by coronary computed tomography Angiography-Derived Fractional Flow Reserve

BackgroundValues of fractional flow reserve (FFR_CT) by coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) decline from the ostium to the terminal vessel, irrespective of stenosis severity. The purpose of this study is to determine if the site of measurement of FFR_CT impacts assessment of ischemia and its diagnostic performance relative to invasive FFR (FFR_INV).Methods1484 patients underwent FFR_CT; 1910 vessels were stratified by stenosis severity (normal; <25%, 25–50%, 50–70%, and >70% stenosis). The rates of positive FFR_CT (≤0.8) were determined by measuring FFR_CT from the terminal vessel and from distal-to-the-lesion. Reclassification rates from positive to negative FFR_CT were calculated. Diagnostic performance of FFR_CT relative to FFR_INV was evaluated in 182 vessels using linear regression, Bland Altman analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.ResultsPositive FFR_CT was identified in 24.9% of vessels using terminal vessel FFR_CT and 10.1% using FFR_CT distal-to-the-lesion (p ?< ?0.001). FFR_CT obtained distal-to-the-lesion resulted in reclassification of 59.6% of positive terminal FFR_CT to negative FFR_CT. Relative to FFR_INV, there were improvements in specificity (50% to 86%, p ?< ?0.001), diagnostic accuracy (65% to 88%, p ?< ?0.001), positive predictive value (50% to 78%, p ?< ?0.001), and area-under-the-curve (AUC, 0.83 to 0.91, p ?< ?0.001) when FFR_CT was measured distal-to-the-lesion.ConclusionFFR_CT values from the terminal vessel should not be used to assess lesion-specific ischemia due to high rates of false positive results. FFR_CT measured distal-to-the-lesion improves the diagnostic performance of FFR_CT relative to FFR_INV, ensures that FFR_CT values are due to lesion-specific ischemia, and could reduce the rate of unnecessary invasive procedures.     

A coordinated approach for the assessment of molecular subgroups in pediatric ependymomas using low-cost methods

Journal of Molecular Medicine - Although ependymoma (EPN) molecular subgroups have been well established by integrated high-throughput platforms, low- and middle-income countries still need...     

Precompensation of 3D field distortions in remote focus two-photon microscopy

Remote focusing is widely used in 3D two-photon microscopy and 3D photostimulation because it enables fast axial scanning without moving the objective lens or specimen. However, due to the design constraints of microscope optics, remote focus units are often located in non-telecentric positions in the optical path, leading to significant depth-dependent 3D field distortions in the imaging volume. To address this limitation, we characterized 3D field distortions arising from non-telecentric remote focusing and present a method for distortion precompensation. We demonstrate its applicability for a 3D two-photon microscope that uses an acousto-optic lens (AOL) for remote focusing and scanning. We show that the distortion precompensation method improves the pointing precision of the AOL microscope to < 0.5 µm throughout the 400 × 400 × 400 µm imaging volume.     

Primary versus post-treatment apical periodontitis: microbial composition,lipopolysaccharides and lipoteichoic acid levels,signs and symptoms

Clinical Oral Investigations - To compare the microbial load and composition and to determine the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and lipoteichoic acid (LTA) concentrations found in primary apical...