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Conventional intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) devices use piezoelectric transducers to electrically generate and receive US. With this paradigm, there are numerous challenges that restrict improvements in image quality. First, with miniaturization of the transducers to reduce device size, it can be challenging to achieve the sensitivities and bandwidths required for large tissue penetration depths and high spatial resolution. Second, complexities associated with manufacturing miniaturized electronic transducers can have significant cost implications. Third, with increasing interest in molecular characterization of tissue in-vivo, it has been challenging to incorporate optical elements for multimodality imaging with photoacoustics (PA) or near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) whilst maintaining the lateral dimensions suitable for intracoronary imaging. AZ-33 nmr Optical Ultrasound (OpUS) is a new paradigm for intracoronary imaging. US is generated at the surface of a fiber optic transducer via the photoacoustic effect. Pulsed or modulated light is absorbed in an engineered coating on the fiber surface and converted to thermal energy. The subsequent temperature rise leads to a pressure rise within the coating, which results in a propagating ultrasound wave. US reflections from imaged structures are received with optical interferometry. With OpUS, high bandwidths (31.5 MHz) and pressures (21.5 MPa) have enabled imaging with axial resolutions better than 50 μm and at depths >20 mm. These values challenge those of conventional 40 MHz IVUS technology and show great potential for future clinical application. Recently developed nanocomposite coating materials, that are highly transmissive at light wavelengths used for PA and NIRS light, can facilitate multimodality imaging, thereby enabling molecular characterization.Acute liver injury (ALI) in children is a life-threatening event, and a definitive etiology can be identified in approximately 50% of cases. Neuroblastoma amplified sequence (NBAS) gene mutations have been associated with a broad phenotypic spectrum of this disease, ranging from recurrent episodes of fever-induced liver injuries to multiorgan involvement, including frequent infections as well as skeletal and immunological abnormalities. Here, we describe an adolescent female with a confirmed compound heterozygous NBAS gene mutation who presented with an episode of ALI complicated by severe acute kidney injury (AKI). The kidney injury was most probably driven by an intrinsic insult, as noted by elevated neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin levels and a kidney biopsy demonstrating severe tubular damage consistent with acute tubular necrosis. While the patient’s liver function and mental status showed significant improvement with supportive care, recovery of kidney function was delayed, and the patient required acute hemodialysis. We suggest a causative relation between the NBAS gene mutation and severe AKI.We experienced a rare case of tubulointerstitial angiocentric granulomatous vasculitis with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and associated sarcoidosis. Our patient was an 18-year-old man who presented with exertional cough and dyspnea. He also had overt proteinuria (3.0 g/24 h), normal renal function (eGFR 95 mL/min/1.73 m, and hypertension was managed more easily. Thereafter, he did not experience any recurrence. The concurrent improvement of renal function and proteinuria by steroid treatment suggested a relationship between the glomerular lesions and the tubulointerstitial granulomatous vasculitis with associated sarcoidosis.Primary hyperoxaluria (PH) is a rare autosomal recessive metabolic disorder where serum oxalate levels rise due to overproduction. The kidney tubule is a main target for oxalate deposition, resulting in damage to the organ. Kidney failure is rare in these patients. We present a 67-year-old female with hemodialysis-dependent end-stage renal disease likely due to PH type 2 or 3. With extremely high levels of serum oxalate (60.4 μmol/L), this patient had minimal treatment options for her rare disease. This report details a unique presentation of a rare disease where kidney biopsy was instrumental.It is currently difficult for pathologists to diagnose pancreatic cancer (PC) using biopsy specimens because samples may have been from an incorrect site or contain an insufficient amount of tissue. Thus, there is a need to develop a platform-independent molecular classifier that accurately distinguishes benign pancreatic lesions from PC. Here, we developed a robust qualitative messenger RNA signature based on within-sample relative expression orderings (REOs) of genes to discriminate both PC tissues and cancer-adjacent normal tissues from non-PC pancreatitis and healthy pancreatic tissues. A signature comprising 12 gene pairs and 17 genes was built in the training datasets and validated in microarray and RNA-sequencing datasets from biopsy samples and surgically resected samples. Analysis of 1,007 PC tissues and 257 non-tumor samples from nine databases indicated that the geometric mean of sensitivity and specificity was 96.7%, and the area under receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.978 (95% confidence interval, 0.947-0.994). For 20 specimens obtained from endoscopic biopsy, the signature had a diagnostic accuracy of 100%. The REO-based signature described here can aid in the molecular diagnosis of PC and may facilitate objective differentiation between benign and malignant pancreatic lesions.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and represents the causative agent of a potentially fatal disease that is a public health emergency of international concern. Coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, encode an envelope (E) protein, which is a small, hydrophobic membrane protein; the E protein of SARS-CoV-2 shares a high level of homology with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). In this study, we provide insights into the function of the SARS-CoV-2 E protein channel and the ion and water permeation mechanisms using a combination of in silico methods. Based on our results, the pentameric E protein promotes the penetration of cation ions through the channel. An analysis of the potential mean force (PMF), pore radius and diffusion coefficient reveals that Leu10 and Phe19 are the hydrophobic gates of the channel. In addition, the pore exhibits a clear wetting/dewetting transition with cation selectivity under transmembrane voltage, indicating that it is a hydrophobic voltage-dependent channel.