Precision and Accuracy of Measurements on CT Scout View

ObjectivesThe purposes of this study were to (1) investigate the limits of measurements on scout view in three computed tomography axes, x, y and z and (2) develop a model to provide better understanding of measurement accuracy.MethodsFor the first objective, anteroposterior and lateral scout views of a Catphan phantom 200 mm in diameter and length were acquired with a GE scanner at 21 different table heights. Phantom measurements on scout view were performed by two experienced readers. The comparison of their measures provided estimation of precision. The accuracy was assessed by determining the bias, calculated as the difference between the values measured on scout view and the real phantom size. Second, a model was developed investigating the relationship between the dimensions of the object, its image, and the table height. This relationship was tested on our data.ResultsScout view measurements were precise, with less than 0.53% difference between readers. In addition, small biases of about 1 mm were detected in the z-axis, whatever the table height. In the other axes, serious biases from −13 to +73 mm were measured. Furthermore, at isocentre, overestimations up to 7 mm were shown. The results also indicated that biases in scout view measurements are because of the geometrical projection related to the object-detector distance.ConclusionsMeasurements in the table movement axis are precise and accurate, conferring to scout views an added value for preoperative planning in orthopedic surgery.     

Estimating neuron dendritic length in 3D from total vertical projections and from vertical slices

The recently developed method of total vertical projections is illustrated to estimate the total dendritic length of a human Substantia Nigra neuron. Next, the length of the different orders of dendritic branches, and the mean segment length for each order - commonly regarded as important parameters in neuron physiology - are also estimated. Finally, it is shown how to estimate the mean dendritic length in a population of neurons from vertical slices of arbitrary and unknown thickness. Being unbiased and highly efficient, the proposed methods offer interesting alternatives to current procedures used for the metric analysis of neuron arborizations.     

薄块MIP在听小骨显示中的作用评价

目的探讨通过多层螺旋CT各向同性扫描进行薄块最大密度投影(th in slab m aximum intensity projection,ts-M IP)后处理对听小骨的显示能力。方法对35例患者行多层螺旋CT各向同性扫描,然后在工作站进行ts-M IP后处理,观察横断面、冠状面和矢状面ts-M IP对听小骨的显示情况。结果横断面、冠状面和矢状面ts-M IP均能对锤骨、砧骨及锤砧关节进行显示,其中横断面ts-M IP显示砧镫关节较好,并可同时显示锤骨柄及砧骨长脚的全长;冠状面ts-M IP可显示锤骨的全貌;矢状面ts-M IP显示听小骨可很好地避免各结构地重叠。结论通过多层螺旋CT各向同性扫描获得的图像进行ts-M IP后处理,能够很好地显示正常锤骨、砧骨及砧镫关节,其缺点是对镫骨的显示欠佳。     

Difference in projections to the lateral and medial facial nucleus: anatomically separate pathways for rhythmical vibrissa movement in rats

Summary The present paper demonstrates that the lateral and medial subdivisions of the rat facial motor nucleus (NVII) receive differing mesencephalic and metencephalic projections. In order to study brain projections to facial nucleus, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was injected iontophoretically into the entire facial nucleus or the following subdivisions: lateral, dorsolateral, medial, intermediate, and ventral. In the mesencephalic region, the retrorubral nucleus was found to project to the contralateral medial subdivision of NVII, while the red nucleus was found to project to the contralateral lateral subdivision of NVII. Other mesencephalic projections to the facial nucleus arose from the deep mesencephalic nucleus, oculomotor nucleus, central gray including inter stitial nucleus of Cajal and nucleus Darkschewitsch, superior colliculus and substantia nigra (reticular). In the metencephalic region, the Kölliker-Fuse nucleus, parabrachial nucleus, and the ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus projected mainly to the ipsilateral lateral subdivision of NVII. In addition, the trapezoid, pontine reticular, vestibular, and motor trigeminal nuclei were observed to have predominantly ipsilateral connections to the facial nucleus. In contrast, projections from the myelencephalic region were to both the lateral and medial subdivision of NVII. The medullary reticular nucleus, ambiguus nucleus, spinal trigeminal nucleus and parvocellular reticular nucleus projected to both lateral and medial subdivisions of NVII with an ipsilateral predominance. The gigantocellular and paragigantocellular reticular nuclei, raphe magnus, external cuneate nucleus and the nucleus of the solitary tract also projected to the facial motor nucleus. Surprisingly, no direct projections to the NVII were observed from diencephalic and telencephalic regions. Our findings that the lateral subdivision of NVII which innervates vibrissa-pad-muscles (Dom et al. 1973; Martin and Lodge 1977; Watson et al. 1982) receives different metencephalic and mesencephalic projections than medial subdivision which controls pinna movement (Henkel and Edwards 1978), suggest that the functional difference between these subdivisions is mediated by the anatomically separate pathways. We confirmed our anatomical findings by eliciting exclusively vibrissa responses by electrical stimulation of the nuclei which project to the lateral subdivision of NVII.     

Dynamic MRI with projection reconstruction and KWIC processing for simultaneous high spatial and temporal resolution.

A method for dynamic imaging in MRI is presented that enables the acquisition of a series of images with both high temporal and high spatial resolution. The technique, which is based on the projection reconstruction (PR) imaging scheme, utilizes distinct data acquisition and reconstruction strategies to achieve this simultaneous capability. First, during acquisition, data are collected in multiple undersampled passes, with the view angles interleaved in such a way that those of subsequent passes bisect the views of earlier ones. During reconstruction, these views are weighted according to a previously described k-space weighted image contrast (KWIC) technique that enables the manipulation of image contrast by selective filtering. Unlike conventional undersampled PR methods, the proposed dynamic KWIC technique does not suffer from low image SNR or image degradation due to streaking artifacts. The effectiveness of dynamic KWIC is demonstrated in both simulations and in vivo, high-resolution, contrast-enhanced imaging of breast lesions.     

水泡绦虫体壁的超微结构与功能

本文通过透射电镜观察水泡绦虫成虫体壁的结构,发现成虫体壁密布微毛并具纤毛,微毛顶端棘突系条状结晶蛋白。皮层基质区有许多液泡,内含颗粒或脂滴及不定形的基质。皮下层为有核细胞区,富有细胞器,实质中有较多电子致密细胞和核周体,并向皮层发出大小不等的胞质通道,构成一个片层状的管网结构,显示体壁能取代肠管的特殊功能。     

基于图像的微阵列生物芯片分析

利用生物芯片的高通量特性，系统地研究生物体基因和蛋白质表达及其相互作用，在最近十几年迅速发展。以图像为基础的生物芯片分析是生物芯片技术的重要组成部分，对其方法进行研究已成为当前的热点之一。目前很多针对生物芯片的分析方法不断涌现，这些方法涉及网格定位、靶点分割、数据提取和表达、几何校正、噪声消除等生物芯片分析子过程。本研究对以上各类分析方法进行了综述，分析了各类方法的不同应用，比较了多种算法的分析结果，并提出当前在生物芯片分析研究领域需要解决的关键问题。     

Electrophysiological and pharmacological evidence in favor of amino acid neurotransmission in fimbria-fornix fibers innervating the lateral septal complex of rats

Summary Electrical stimulation of fimbria-fornix (fifx) fibers monosynaptically activated many of the neurons tested in the lateral septal complex (LSC) of the rat. The orthodromically activated LSC neurons were classified as strongly orthodromically activated (SOA) or weakly orthodromically activated (WOA) cells according to their threshold for eliciting a response, stability of the response latency, frequency following and the stimulus-response ratio.Microiontophoretically applied glutamate (GLU) could excite both SOA and WOA neurons. However, the expelling currents needed to activate the SOA cells were often considerably lower than those necessary to excite the WOA cells suggesting higher sensitivity to GLU of those cells which receive a strong fi-fx innervation. Iontophoretically administered glutamic acid diethylester (GDEE) in general reversibly attenuated excitatory responses of LSC cells to GLU but not to acetylcholine. GDEE was also effective in blocking the synaptic responses of SOA septal cells to fi-fx stimuli. In addition, GDEE administered topically reversibly suppressed the field potential induced in the LSC by fi-fx stimulation.These electrophysiological and pharmacological results support recent biochemical observations suggesting that the excitatory innervation of LSC neurons by fi-fx fibers is mediated by GLU or a closely related excitatory amino acid.The investigations were supported by the Foundation for Medical Research FUNGO which is subsidized by the Netherlands Organization for Advancement of Pure Research (Z.W.O.), grant 13-31-045 awarded to I.J. A. Urban     

大鼠运动皮层投射神经元与Parvalbumin免疫阳性神经纤维终末的关系──免疫荧光、Confocal显微镜观察

Parvalburnin是细胞内一种钙结合蛋白。同时又可作为中枢神经系统内与GABA共存的神经元亚群的特异标记物，主要标记篮状及苔烛细胞。用PAP方谈染色可见大鼠Parvalbumin免疫阳性神经终末在运动皮层锥体神经元胞体周围形成包篮现象，但因该方法的局限性．较难明确二者的关系。为进一步了解Parvalbumin阳性终未在锥体神经元脑体、树突与轴突整体上的分布状况以及运幼皮层内不同传出神经元是否均接受同样的支配，本实验利用FastBlue送行标记、固定脑片细胞内注入LueiferYellow结合免疫荧光、Confocal显微镜观察，研究运动皮层内皮质丘脑（束旁核）、皮质效状体及皮质脊髓三种投射神经元与Parvalbumin阳性终末的关系。通过1．μ连续扫描图像的分析及立体对观察，Parvalbumin阳性终末清晰可见，与LuciferYellow标记的锥体细胞的关系也容易辨别．在三种投射神经元胞体上均可见Parvalbumin阳性终末包绕，形成明显包篮现象，但三种神经元上的终末数未见明显区别·阳性终未还分布于近端树突上，距胞体越远越稀疏：但在距脑体50μm以上的顶树突、30μm以上的基树突及其二、三级分枝的远端树突上仍偶有终末分布．此外，三种神经元轴突起始段上也有少量终末接触，但未形成明显的cartridge现象．这一结果揭示，Parvalb