Background The identification and subsequent management of liver diseases in children is challenging due to the lack of non-invasive imaging biomarkers. Ultrasound shear-wave elastography (US-SWE) is an emerging imaging technique which can quantitatively assess liver stiffness and may be useful as a tool in the management of liver disease in overweight and obese children. Purpose To evaluate US-SWE velocities of the liver in normal-weight and obese children, to correlate US-SWE findings with age and body-mass-index (BMI), and to compare US-SWE values with qualitative assessment (i.e. normal versus abnormal echogenicity) of the liver by conventional US. Material and Methods A cohort of 300 children (mean age, 9.9 ± 5.3 years; age range, 0.06-18.9 years) were studied, comprising 176 normal-weight and 124 obese participants. In each patient, both US-SWE and conventional US of the liver were obtained. Three pediatric radiologists individually and in consensus determined whether liver parenchyma was of normal or abnormal echogenicity. Results US-SWE velocities differed between normal-weight and obese children (1.08 ± 0.14 versus 1.44 ± 0.39 m/s; P < 0.001), but not by gender. Multivariate linear regression demonstrated US-SWE velocity to be primarily associated with age in normal-weight children ( P < 0.05) and with BMI in obese children ( P < 0.001). In the obese group, mean US-SWE velocity was statistically higher in participants with abnormal echogenic livers than in those with normal-appearing livers (1.53 ± 0.38 vs. 1.17 ± 0.27). The difference was not significant in the normal-weight group. Conclusion US-SWE provides a useful quantitative imaging biomarker for evaluating liver stiffness in children.

Parameters influencing the selectivity of the (PPh(3))(3)RhCl-catalyzed hydrophosphorylation of olefins and enynes are described. The reaction between differentiated dienes was shown to be highly responsive to olefin substitution. The trimethylsilyl group effectively reversed the normal preference for hydrophosphorylation of an alkyne over an alkene. [reaction: see text]

N‐(2‐Propenyl)‐4‐methylbenzenesulfonamide 2,3,3α,4‐Tetrahydro‐2‐[(4‐methylbenzene) sulfonyl]cyclopentyl[C]pyrrol‐5(1H)‐one p‐Toluenesulfonyl chloride N‐(2‐Propenyl)‐N‐(2‐propynyl)‐4‐methylbenzenesulfonamide Hexacarbonyl‐2‐methyl‐3‐butyn‐2‐ol dicobalt Dicobalt octacarbonyl

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High-quality, thin-section (3-mm) T1-weighted imaging can be readily performed at 3 T using a short TE 2-D GRE technique. This approach offers superior SNR and CNR with reduced motion artifacts and scan time as compared with imaging at 1.5 T and is advocated for routine brain imaging at 3 T. It is robust (used in over 1500 patients to date) and does not experience significant specific absorption ratio limitations, poor tissue contrast, or accentuated motion artifacts like encountered with spin echo T1-weighted imaging at 3 T.