Academic radiology
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To assess resources available to junior faculty in US academic radiology departments for research mentorship and funding opportunities and to determine if certain resources are more common in successful programs. ⋯ Better marketing of resources for junior faculty, effort devoted to mentoring clinical faculty in research, and explicit milestones/expectations for achievement could enhance junior faculty success, promote interest in the clinician–scientist career path for radiologists, and lead to greater research success.
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To analyze airway dimensions throughout the bronchial tree in severe asthmatic patients using multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) focusing on airway narrowing. ⋯ Severe asthma-associated morphologic changes were characterized by focal bronchial stenoses and diffuse airway narrowing; the latter was associated with airflow obstruction. WA%, dependent on airway caliber, is the best parameter to identify severe asthmatic patients from pooled subjects.
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To assess the diagnostic value of dual-energy (DE) computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) for acute pulmonary embolism (PE) using a helical DE scan mode with rapid kVp switching. ⋯ CTPA based on DE scanning with rapid kVp switching can provide both morphologic analysis and quantitative evaluation of PD related to acute PE in addition to standard CTPA data. Quantification of iodine concentration may be helpful for identifying the presence or absence of PE.
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Observational Study
"What Program Directors Think" II: Results of the 2013 and 2014 Annual Surveys of the Association of Program Directors in Radiology.
The Association of Program Directors in Radiology (APDR) surveys residents' educational experiences, work responsibilities, and benefits to support radiology residency programs and their directors. ⋯ With the ABR Core examination, radiology educators increasingly included multiple choice questions in teaching conferences. "Boards frenzy" was alive and well. The number of programs with a CCC was growing, chaired primarily by the Program Director (PD), with the most commonly used tool being the rotation evaluation. In view of "fellowship frenzy" in the third year of residency, only a minority of PDs were against a fellowship match in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). The majority of respondents replied that the new IR/DR pathway would negatively affect the DR residency.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A pilot trial to examine the effect of high-dose niacin on arterial wall inflammation using fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.
Although studies have reported direct inhibition of inflammatory pathways with niacin, the effect of niacin on arterial wall inflammation remains unknown. We examined the effect of niacin on arterial (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT). ⋯ In this pilot study, adding niacin to statin therapy did not affect arterial wall inflammation measured by FDG-PET/CT. However, an association between changes in arterial FDG uptake and LDL-P was observed. Larger studies are needed to definitively examine the effect of niacin on arterial wall inflammation.