Academic radiology
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Isolated developmental delay (IDD) is a common disorder in preschool and school-age children. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) usually does not disclose abnormalities, but a myelination delay is suspected as causative or associated factor. N-acetyl-aspartate is a surrogate marker of neuronal integrity but also of axonal integrity. The goal of our study is to determine whether magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is able to detect alterations in the white matter supporting the hypothesis of delayed myelination in children with IDD and normal MRI. ⋯ The lower NAA/Cr ratio in children with IDD in relation to controls may be a promising marker of this disorder and supports the hypothesis of delayed myelination. MRS can provide important information in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Accurate quantification of the shape and extent of breast tumors has a vital role in nearly all applications of breast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (MRI). Specifically, tumor segmentation is a key component in the computerized assessment of likelihood of malignancy. However, manual delineation of lesions in four-dimensional MR images is labor intensive and subject to interobserver and intraobserver variations. We developed a computerized lesion segmentation method that has the advantage of being automatic, efficient, and objective. ⋯ Our proposed algorithm for breast-lesion segmentation in dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI was shown to be effective and efficient.
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Stratifying candidates objectively on the merit of publication portfolios is an onerous and difficult task. Institutional committees are under increasing pressure to rank applicants based on previous achievements for appointments/promotions, funding, and awards, and must do so within unforgiving time constraints. The journal impact factor (IF) has been loosely adopted in many circles for assessing article "quality," circumventing detailed review of individual articles. The premise supporting such practice often hinges on assuming that high-IF journals are harder to publish in, for example, have higher rejection rates (RRs), and therefore, authors achieving publication in such periodicals should be "recognized" for their achievement. There is no evidence of previous research linking IF and RR. ⋯ In summary, this study demonstrates poor linear agreement between IF and RR for manuscripts submitted to peer-reviewed radiology journals. This suggests that journal IF is a poor predictor of RR, and vice versa. This finding may be of interest to institutional committees who have adopted the IF as an indicator of merit in reviewing publication curriculum vitae, and may encourage rethinking of currently practiced candidate assessment approaches.
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The aim of the study is to gauge radiology fellowship directors' experiences with the fellowship application process and perceptions of the National Resident Matching Program Radiology Fellowship Match, as well as compare these perceptions with those of senior residents. ⋯ Although there are significant differences in perception of the Match process between fellowship directors and senior residents, the majority of fellowship directors favor continuing the Match in some form. Several potential solutions, including explicit declaration of the number of available positions and strict enforcement of Match rules, may help improve the process in the future.
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Clinical Trial
Smoothing lung segmentation surfaces in three-dimensional X-ray CT images using anatomic guidance.
Automatic lung segmentation in volumetric computed tomography (CT) images has been extensively investigated, and several methods have been proposed. Most methods distinguish the lung parenchyma from the surrounding anatomy based on the difference in CT attenuation values. This leads to an irregular and inconsistent lung boundary for the regions near the mediastinum, which can cause inconsistent boundaries both across subjects and within subjects scanned at different intervals of time. Processes like lung image registration and lung atlas construction can be affected by such inconsistencies. Therefore there is a need for a more consistent lung surface near the mediastinum. ⋯ We have described a novel scheme for smoothing the lung contour around the mediastinum. The method is based on using anatomic information from the segmented airway tree. The validation results show that there is good agreement between manual and computer results. Because there are no accepted criteria for defining the lung boundary near the mediastinum, we believe our method of defining the boundary based on the structure of the airway tree provides a good basis for three-dimensional smoothing.