BACKGROUND/AIM: To evaluate the prognostic value of Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (RECIST), modified RECIST and volumetric analysis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated by transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This single-center prospective cohort study included a total of 61 patients with HCC treated by transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). The response of TACE was evaluated on preprocedural and postprocedural CT by two radiologists using RECIST/mRECIST and volumetric response to treatment. Each response assessment method was used to classify the response as progressive disease, stable disease, partial response and complete response. Kaplan-Meier analysis with log-rank test was performed for each method to evaluate its ability to help predict overall survival and progression free survival. Interobserver variability and reproducibility was determined by the Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients. RESULTS: The median overall survival was 17.1 months and the median progression-free survival was 11.1 months. Volumetric assessment was proved to be a prognostic factor for overall survival (p<0.01) and progression-free survival (p<0.001), contrasting with RECIST and mRECIST. All three methods featured very small interobserver variability (p<0.001 for Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients). The patients classified as having stable disease had a 3.8-fold higher risk of death than the patients classified as having a complete/partial response (HR=3.82; 95% Confidence Interval (CI)=1.32-11.02; p=0.013) and a 4.5-fold higher risk of progression (HR=4.46; 95% CI=1.72-11.61; p=0.002). CONCLUSION: The prognostic value of volumetric analysis in patients with HCC treated by TACE appears to be superior to RECIST and mRECIST, with a real impact in everyday practice.

• Klíčová slova
• Hepatocellular carcinoma, RECIST, mRECIST, transarterial chemoembolization, volumetric analysis,
• MeSH
• chemoembolizace * metody   MeSH
• hepatocelulární karcinom * diagnostické zobrazování   terapie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nádory jater * terapie   MeSH
• prospektivní studie MeSH
• reprodukovatelnost výsledků MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Volumetric absorptive microsampling (VAMS) enables accurate collection of low blood volumes, independent of hematocrit. Electromembrane extraction (EME) is a sustainable sample clean-up technique; however, its wider applicability to extract analytes directly from VAMS tips remains unexplored. This study aimed to evaluate applicability of the first commercially available conductive vial EME device (with 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether as liquid membrane) for isolating 41 basic pharmaceuticals (log P 2-6) from 10 μL of blood on VAMS tips. The following extraction parameters were optimized: donor solution composition and volume, conductive vials size, applied voltage, extraction time and agitation speed. It was found that: 1/large conductive vials (600 μL) and 300 μL of donor solution provide higher process efficiency and reproducibility compared to smaller vials (200 μL) or larger donor solution volumes; 2/methanol in donor solution improve reproducibility and 3/sonication of VAMS tips in donor solution within a conductive vial prior to extraction enhances process efficiency. The EME protocol, followed by UHPLC-MS/MS analysis, was evaluated for process efficiency, linearity (1-1000 ng/mL), precision, and accuracy. Eleven analytes met most of the predefined acceptance criteria: process efficiencies 34.9-65.8 %, linearity (R2) 0.9933-0.9995, accuracy 85.9-111.1 % and precision 1.4-13.3 % RSD. The extraction was not impacted by hematocrit variation. EME demonstrated superior reproducibility and reduced matrix effects when compared to conventional VAMS tips treatment. This study confirms the reliability of a commercial conductive vial EME device for isolating basic pharmaceuticals from whole blood on VAMS tips, highlighting its potential for routine bioanalytical applications.

• Klíčová slova
• Conductive vial electromembrane extraction, Microextraction, Sample preparation, Volumetric absorptive microsampling,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Our goal was to find out whether a decrease in hippocampal volume in Alzheimer's disease measured via magnetic resonance imaging is accompanied by a similar volume decrease in the pons and cerebellum. We also tried to evaluate whether there are any accompanying hippocampal, pontine and cerebellar asymmetries between the left and right side. METHODS: We performed a manual volumetric magnetic resonance analysis of the pons, cerebellum and hippocampi in 29 healthy controls and 26 patients with Alzheimer's disease, divided into two groups according to the Mini-Mental State Examination score. RESULTS: We confirmed a known decrease in hippocampal volume in Alzheimer's disease patients but found that there is no similar volume decrease in the pons or cerebellum that could serve as a radiologic diagnostic tool in Alzheimer's disease diagnosis. Also, there was no statistically significant right-left asymmetry in all three measured structures. CONCLUSION: Only hippocampal volume and not pontine and cerebellar volumes could serve as a magnetic resonance diagnostic tool in Alzheimer's disease.

• MeSH
• Alzheimerova nemoc patologie   MeSH
• analýza rozptylu MeSH
• atrofie MeSH
• hipokampus patologie   MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• magnetická rezonanční tomografie metody   MeSH
• mozeček patologie   MeSH
• neuropsychologické testy MeSH
• pons patologie   MeSH
• ROC křivka MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• studie případů a kontrol MeSH
• stupeň závažnosti nemoci MeSH
• velikost orgánu MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

BACKGROUND: Dried blood spot (DBS) sampling on cellulose cards suffers from varying blood haematocrit levels and from chromatographic effects, which have a direct impact on quantitative DBS analyses. Commercial volumetric microsampling devices were, therefore, introduced to mitigate these effects, however, these devices are not compatible with automated DBS processing systems and must be processed manually. RESULTS: Capillary electrophoresis (CE) instruments use fused-silica (FS) capillaries for precise and accurate liquid handling as well as for injection, separation, and quantitative analyses of liquid samples. These inherent features of an Agilent 7100 CE instrument were employed for the automated processing (elution and homogenization) of DBSs collected by hemaPEN® volumetric devices (2.74 μL of capillary blood per spot). The hemaPEN® samples were processed directly in CE vials by consecutive transfers of 56 μL of methanol and 14 μL of deionized water through the FS capillary in a sequence of 39 DBSs with repeatability of the liquid transfers better than 1.4 %. The resulting DBS eluates were homogenized by a quick air flush through the capillary and analyzed by the same capillary and CE instrument. Creatinine was selected as a clinically relevant model analyte and its endogenous concentrations in DBSs were determined by CE with capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection (CE-C4D) in a background electrolyte solution consisting of 50 mM acetic acid and 0.1 % (v/v) Tween 20 (pH 3.0). The overall repeatability of the automated DBS processing and CE-C4D analyses of 39 DBSs was ≤7.1 % (peak areas) and ≤0.6 % (migration times), the calibration curve was linear in the 25-500 μM range (R2 = 0.9993) and covered all endogenous blood creatinine levels, the limit of detection was 5.0 μM, and sample throughput was >12 DBSs per hour. DBS ageing for 60 days and varying blood haematocrit levels (20-70 %) did not affect creatinine quantitative results (≤6.9 % for peak areas). Inter-capillary and inter-instrument repeatability was ≤7.7 % (peak areas) and ≤3.4 % (migration times) and demonstrated an excellent transferability of the proposed analytical concept among laboratories. SIGNIFICANCE AND NOVELTY: This contribution is the first-ever report on the use of a single off-the-shelf analytical instrument for fully automated analyses of DBSs collected by commercial volumetric microsampling devices and holds great promise for future unmanned quantitative DBS analyses.

• Klíčová slova
• Automation, Capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detection, Capillary electrophoresis, Creatinine, Dried blood spot, Volumetric microsampling,
• MeSH
• automatizace MeSH
• elektroforéza kapilární * metody   MeSH
• kreatinin krev   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• test suché kapky krve * metody   přístrojové vybavení   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• kreatinin MeSH

The liquid state NMR chemical shift of protons is a parameter frequently used to characterize host-guest complexes. Its theoretical counterpart, that is, the 1H NMR chemical shielding affected by the solvent (1H CS), may provide important insights into spatial arrangements of supramolecular systems, and it can also be reliably obtained for challenging cases of an aggregation of aromatic and antiaromatic molecules in solution. This computational analysis is performed for the complex of coronene and an antiaromatic model compound in acetonitrile by employing the GIAO-B3LYP-PCM approach combined with a saturated basis set. Predicted 1H CS values are used to generate volumetric data, whose properties are thoroughly investigated. The 1H CS isosurface, corresponding to a value of the proton chemical shift taken from a previous experimental study, is described. The presence of the 1H CS isosurface should be taken into account in deriving structural information about supramolecular hosts and their encapsulation of small molecules.

• Klíčová slova
• B3LYP, GIAO, antiaromaticity, chemical shielding, proton NMR,
• MeSH
• acetonitrily chemie   MeSH
• difrakce rentgenového záření MeSH
• izotopy uhlíku MeSH
• magnetická rezonanční spektroskopie metody   MeSH
• makromolekulární látky MeSH
• nikl chemie   MeSH
• normální rozdělení MeSH
• polycyklické sloučeniny chemie   MeSH
• protonová magnetická rezonanční spektroskopie MeSH
• protony MeSH
• rozpouštědla chemie   MeSH
• železo chemie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• acetonitrile MeSH Prohlížeč
• acetonitrily MeSH
• Carbon-13 MeSH Prohlížeč
• coronene MeSH Prohlížeč
• izotopy uhlíku MeSH
• makromolekulární látky MeSH
• nikl MeSH
• polycyklické sloučeniny MeSH
• protony MeSH
• rozpouštědla MeSH
• železo MeSH

Wavelet transformation is one of the most frequent procedures for data denoising, smoothing, decomposition, features extraction, and further related tasks. In order to perform such tasks, we need to select appropriate wavelet settings, including particular wavelet, decomposition level and other parameters, which form the wavelet transformation outputs. Selection of such parameters is a challenging area due to absence of versatile recommendation tools for suitable wavelet settings. In this paper, we propose a versatile recommendation system for prediction of suitable wavelet selection for data smoothing. The proposed system is aimed to generate spatial response matrix for selected wavelets and the decomposition levels. Such response enables the mapping of selected evaluation parameters, determining the efficacy of wavelet settings. The proposed system also enables tracking the dynamical noise influence in the context of Wavelet efficacy by using volumetric response. We provide testing on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) image data and EMG signals mostly of musculoskeletal system to objectivise system usability for clinical data processing. The experimental testing is done by using evaluation parameters such is MSE (Mean Squared Error), ED (Euclidean distance) and Corr (Correlation index). We also provide the statistical analysis of the results based on Mann-Whitney test, which points out on statistically significant differences for individual Wavelets for the data corrupted with Salt and Pepper and Gaussian noise.

• Klíčová slova
• Coiflet wavelet, Daubechies wavelet, Symlet wavelet, spatial and volumetric modeling, wavelet transformation,
• MeSH
• algoritmy * MeSH
• elektromyografie * MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• magnetická rezonanční tomografie * MeSH
• normální rozdělení MeSH
• počítačová rentgenová tomografie * MeSH
• vlnková analýza * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Investigations of alterations in brain asymmetry often focus on the planum temporale of patients with schizophrenia. Data also suggest changes in laterality of demented patients associated with a more marked impairment of the left hemisphere. Our study was performed on autoptic brain tissue of 84 patients, out of which there were 25 non-demented non-psychotic controls, 50 demented patients (34 Alzheimer disease, 9 multi - infarct dementia and 7 mixed-type dementia patients) and 9 people with schizophrenia. The plana temporalia were evaluated via a new volumetric method using dental resin matter. Areas, cortical thickness and volumes of the right and left planum temporale were evaluated without normalization to brain weight in 60 patients and with normalization in 24 people. In controls, a mild right/left laterality of areas, cortical thickness and volumes was found. Moreover, in control women the areas of the left planum temporale were smaller than those observed in control men. The shifts to left/right laterality of areas and volumes were found in all demented groups. In the more numerous Alzheimer group, the change in laterality of an area was associated with a mild decrease on the right and a mild increase on the left side. In contrast, marked but only bilateral area shrinkage as well as reduced cortical thickness and brain volumes were observed in schizophrenic patients.

• MeSH
• Alzheimerova nemoc patologie   patofyziologie   MeSH
• antropometrie MeSH
• demence patologie   patofyziologie   MeSH
• funkční lateralita fyziologie   MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• patologie metody   MeSH
• pitva MeSH
• počítačové zpracování obrazu MeSH
• pohlavní dimorfismus MeSH
• progrese nemoci MeSH
• psychotické poruchy patologie   patofyziologie   MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• sluchové korové centrum patologie   patofyziologie   MeSH
• spánkový lalok patologie   patofyziologie   MeSH
• syntetické pryskyřice MeSH
• vaskulární demence patologie   patofyziologie   MeSH
• velikost orgánu fyziologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• syntetické pryskyřice MeSH

PURPOSE: Hypofractionated radiotherapy for prostate cancer is well established for definitive treatment, but not well defined in the postoperative setting. The purpose of this analysis was to assess oncologic outcomes and toxicity in a large cohort of patients treated with conventionally fractionated three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiotherapy (CF) and hypofractionated volumetric modulated arc therapy (HF) after radical prostatectomy. METHODS: Between 1994 and 2019, a total of 855 patients with prostate carcinoma were treated by postoperative radiotherapy using CF (total dose 65-72 Gy, single fraction 1.8-2 Gy) in 572 patients and HF (total dose 62.5-63.75 Gy, single fraction 2.5-2.55 Gy) in 283 patients. The association of treatment modality with biochemical control, overall survival (OS), and gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) toxicity was assessed using logistic and Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: There was no difference between the two modalities regarding biochemical control rates (77% versus 81%, respectively, for HF and CF at 24 months and 58% and 64% at 60 months; p = 0.20). OS estimates after 5 years: 95% versus 93% (p = 0.72). Patients undergoing HF had less frequent grade 2 or higher acute GI or GU side effects (p = 0.03 and p = 0.005, respectively). There were no differences in late GI side effects between modalities (hazard ratio 0.99). Median follow-up was 23 months for HF and 72 months for CF (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: For radiation therapy of resected prostate cancer, our analysis of this largest single-centre cohort (n = 283) treated with hypofractionation with advanced treatment techniques compared with conventional fractionation did not yield different outcomes in terms of biochemical control and toxicities. Prospective investigating of HF is merited.

• Klíčová slova
• Biochemical control, Gastrointestinal toxicity, Genitourinary toxicity, Postoperative, bNED,
• MeSH
• hypofrakcionace při ozařování MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nádory prostaty * patologie   radioterapie   chirurgie   MeSH
• prospektivní studie MeSH
• prostata patologie   MeSH
• prostatektomie MeSH
• radioterapie s modulovanou intenzitou * metody   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

BACKGROUND: Changes in the hippocampus after brain metastases radiotherapy can significantly impact neurocognitive functions. Numerous studies document hippocampal atrophy correlating with the radiation dose. This study aims to elucidate volumetric changes in patients undergoing whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) or targeted stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) and to explore volumetric changes in the individual subregions of the hippocampus. METHOD: Ten patients indicated to WBRT and 18 to SRT underwent brain magnetic resonance before radiotherapy and after 4 months. A structural T1-weighted sequence was used for volumetric analysis, and the software FreeSurfer was employed as the tool for the volumetry evaluation of 19 individual hippocampal subregions. RESULTS: The volume of the whole hippocampus, segmented by the software, was larger than the volume outlined by the radiation oncologist. No significant differences in volume changes were observed in the right hippocampus. In the left hippocampus, the only subregion with a smaller volume after WBRT was the granular cells and molecular layers of the dentate gyrus (GC-ML-DG) region (median change -5 mm3, median volume 137 vs. 135 mm3; P = .027), the region of the presumed location of neuronal progenitors. CONCLUSIONS: Our study enriches the theory that the loss of neural stem cells is involved in cognitive decline after radiotherapy, contributes to the understanding of cognitive impairment, and advocates for the need for SRT whenever possible to preserve cognitive functions in patients undergoing brain radiotherapy.

• Klíčová slova
• brain, hippocampus, metastasis, radiotherapy, volumetry,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

An off-the-shelf Agilent 7100 capillary electrophoresis (CE) instrument was employed for the automated processing and analysis of dried blood spots (DBSs) collected by Capitainer®B volumetric devices. Solutions for DBS elutions were transferred directly into CE vials through a separation capillary by the application of an auxiliary nitrogen gas connected to the external pressure line of the CE instrument. This allowed for liquid handling at pressures up to 15 bar and enabled the use of a single capillary for rapid DBS processing and efficient CE separations. The resulting DBS eluates were at-line injected into a short capillary end, which served for improved instrumental simplicity and short CE analysis times. The current set-up necessitated neither hardware nor software adjustments of the CE instrument, except for the connection of a gas cylinder to an in-built connector. The novel features presented in this study (DBSs with exact blood volumes, high external pressures, and short-end injections) were used for the automated determination of clinically relevant markers, phenylalanine (Phe) and tyrosine (Tyr), in DBS samples. Sensitive and selective Phe and Tyr quantification was achieved by CE-UV in 375 mM formic acid and 0.01 % (v/v) Tween 20 (pH 2.09) as a background electrolyte. The total processing and analysis times per one DBS were <1.5 and 4.5 min, respectively, in a sequence of 36 DBSs, and resulted in a sample throughput of >10 DBSs per hour. The intra- and inter-day repeatability values were better than 5.9 and 1.1 % RSD for peak areas and migration times, respectively, and calibration curves were linear in the 20-3000 μM (Phe) and 20-250 μM (Tyr) range (R2 ≥ 0.9973). The limits of detection were ≤2 μM and enabled the determination of endogenous Phe and Tyr concentrations as well as elevated Phe concentrations and Phe/Tyr ratios, which are the typical markers for neonatal phenylketonuria screening.

• Klíčová slova
• Amino acids, Automation, Capillary electrophoresis, Dried blood spots, Rapid analysis, Short-end injection, Volumetric microsampling,
• MeSH
• automatizace * MeSH
• časové faktory MeSH
• elektroforéza kapilární * metody   MeSH
• fenylalanin * krev   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• limita detekce MeSH
• test suché kapky krve * metody   MeSH
• tyrosin * krev   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• fenylalanin * MeSH
• tyrosin * MeSH