Effects of ami-25 on liver vessels and tumors on T1-weighted turbo-field-echo images: Implications for tumor characterization

This study was devoted to tumor differentiation in liver MR T1-weighted imaging with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO). Twenty-one patients with 40 liver lesions were studied at 1.5 T. Before and at least 45 minutes after SPIO administration, turbo-field-echo (TFE) T1-weighted, TFE T1 × T2*-weighted (MXT), and fat-suppressed turbo-spin-echo T2-weighted images were acquired. A quantitative analysis was performed blindly. On TFE T1-weighted images, the signal enhancement was ?33% ± 12 for the liver, ?24% ± 2 for adenomas and focal nodular hyperplasia, +60% ± 33 for the hemangiomas; metastases and cyst enhancement were not significant. After SPIO on TFE T1-weighted images, the hemangioma-to-liver signal ratio (149% ± 18) was definitely higher than the mean metastasis-to-liver signal ratio (90% ± 16). This T1-related differentiation ability lacked dramatically on TFE MXT images and, in one case, was reduced on post-SPIO TFE T1-weighted images by a long imaging delay after SPIO administration (2 hours).     

脐血单个核细胞在半固体培养基中向神经元样细胞的分化

为观察脐血单个核细胞在甲基纤维素半固体培养基中的生长情况 ,常规方法分离脐血单个核细胞 ,接种于含 SCF、GM-CSF、G-CSF、IL-3、IL-6、EPO的甲基纤维素半固体培养基中培养。第 5 d发现有 6～ 10个细胞组成的小集簇 ,散在分布 ,细胞形态无变化。第 11d有神经元样细胞生长 ,与集簇并存。以后神经元样细胞逐渐生长 ,但集簇生长停滞 ,第 16d仍未发现集落形成。收集细胞 ,进行神经元特异烯醇化酶 (NSE)、神经丝蛋白 (NF)免疫细胞化学测定 ,显示少量神经元样细胞 NSE、NF阳性。该结果提示在半固体培养基中 ,脐血单个核细胞可向神经元样细胞分化 ,传统的用于集落培养的半固体培养基可能也适合脐血中其它细胞成分的生长     

View ordering for magnetization prepared steady state free precession acquisition: application in contrast-enhanced MR angiography.

Magnetization prepared segmented acquisition requires a view order that maximizes signal contrast during the acquisition of the central portion of k-space. Steady state free precession (SSFP) acquisition further requires a view order that minimizes changes in phase-encoding gradients from one repetition to the next in order to minimize eddy current artifacts. In this article, optimal view ordering schemes satisfying these two requirements are formulated and applied to inversion prepared 3D SSFP contrast-enhanced MR angiography (MRA). Experiments on phantoms and pigs demonstrated improved background suppression and reduced image artifacts.     

Chromatic pattern-reversal electroretinograms (ChPERGs) are spared in multiple system atrophy compared with Parkinson’s disease

Abstract Idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD) patients have abnormal visual evoked potentials (VEPs) and pattern electroretinograms (PERGs), attributed to dopaminergic transmission deficiency in visual pathway, probably the retina. VEP abnormalities are not reported in multiple system atrophy (MSA). The aim of this study was to investigate and compare chromatic (Ch) red-green (R-G) and blue-yellow (B-Y), and luminance yellow-black (Y-Bk) PERGs in patients with MSA and IPD. We investigated 6 MSA patients (mean age: 62±7.4 years) not undergoing any pharmacological treatment, as well as 12 early IPD patients (mean age: 60.1±8.3 years) and 12 age-matched normal observers. ChPERGs were recorded monocularly in response to full-field equiluminant R-G, B-Y and Y-Bk horizontal gratings. In MSA only responses to R-G stimuli showed minimal insignificant changes (slight but not significant amplitude reduction without any significant latency delay); no significant abnormality was detected for B-Y and luminance Y-Bk stimuli. By contrast, in IPD all responses were reduced in amplitude and delayed in latency, above all for B-Y stimuli. Present data indicate that both chromatic and achromatic PERGs are virtually unaffected in MSA, whereas in early IPD they are clearly impaired, suggesting different pathogenic retinal mechanisms and a useful simple tool for distinguishing MSA from IPD.     

重庆市正常人群肠道双歧杆菌的定量调查

本文介绍了一种双歧杆菌的选择鉴别培养基,并用该培养基对重庆市正常人群肠道双歧杆菌进行了定量分析,进而确定了正常值,为进一步研究双歧杆菌与人类的健康和疾病以及生态学防治提供了科学依据.同时也显示了正常人类肠道中双收杆菌的含量与年龄及性别无显著差异.     

不同培养基对肠球菌检出率的影响

用pH9.6葡萄糖肉汤、6.5％NaCl琼脂平板、3％—5％羊血琼脂平板三种不同培养基,从同一份样品中分离肠球菌,检出率有显著差别。pH9.6葡萄糖肉汤对检样选择性增菌后,再用6.5％NaCl琼脂平板分离肠球菌,其检出率明显高于现正普遍用于肠球菌初代分离的3％～5％血琼脂平板(P<0.05),也高于单纯使用6.5％NaCl琼脂平板(P<0.05);后两者间无显著差别(P>O.05)。属中种的构成在不同培养基上检出情况也不同。 关键词:培养基 肠球菌 检出率 肠球菌广泛存在于自然界,是水、空气、尘     

Rehabilitation of a Spark Erosion Prosthesis: A Clinical Report

When complex prostheses are fabricated, it is expected that at some point maintenance will be necessary. This clinical report documents a 10-year-old maxillary spark erosion prosthesis that had been repaired many times, was discolored, and exhibited significant signs of wear. The metal superstructure was intact; therefore, only the acrylic resin base and teeth needed to be replaced. To reduce both cost and time without the prosthesis for the patient, the rehabilitation was completed within 24 hours.     

Measurement of arterial input functions for dynamic susceptibility contrast magnetic resonance imaging using echoplanar images: comparison of physical simulations with in vivo results.

Measurement of the arterial input bolus shape is essential to the quantification of mean transit time and blood flow with dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) MRI. Input functions derived from the echoplanar signal intensity within or near arteries are highly nonlinear, yet such input functions are widely used. We employed a physical model for the echoplanar signal intensity from an artery as a function of contrast agent concentration, artery size, and angle to the magnetic field to test approaches for the measurement of the arterial input function. The simulated results confirmed the strong nonlinearity of signal in the neighborhood of vessels. Of the input function measurement methods considered, the simulations suggested that measurement of signal near but not within a large vessel is most accurate, but mean transit times (MTT) calculated with these input functions are highly sensitive to peak bolus concentration. Input functions determined from voxels demonstrating the shortest first moment overestimated the MTT but the measured MTTs were more robust to changes in peak concentration. Characteristics of the measured in vivo input functions were consistent with the simulations. Our results emphasize the important contribution of input function errors to the uncertainty in MTT and blood flow imaging with DSC MRI.     

Reperfused myocardial infarctions on T1- and susceptibility-enhanced MRI: Evidence for loss of compartmentalization of contrast media

The purpose of this study was to characterize the contrast caused by a susceptibility MRI contrast agents, on spin echo T₂-weighted imaging of reperfused myocardial infarction. Our interest in this model focused on the expected requirement that such agents be compartmentalized in the tissue to cause signal loss on spin echo images, a condition which may not be present in reperfused infarcted myocardium. Accordingly, nine rats were subjected to 2 h of left coronary artery occlusion followed by 3 ± 0.5 h of reperfusion prior to administration of contrast media. Three sets of MR images were acquired: (a) baseline axial images at the midventricle, both T₁-weighted (TR/TE = 300/20) and T₂-weighted (TR/TE = 1500/60); (b) T₁-weighted images after administering a T₁-enhancing agent, Gd-DTPA-BMA (0.2 mmol/kg), to document that contrast media is delivered to the reperfused infarction; and (c) T₂-weighted images after administering the susceptibility agent, Dy-DTPA-BMA (1.0 mmol/kg). Gadolinium-enhanced T₁ images depicted reperfused infarction as regions with greatly enhanced signal intensity compared with unin-farcted myocardium, indicating that contrast agent was delivered to the infarcted zone. Dysprosium-enhanced T₁ images depicted the injury as a region of persistent signal intensity relative to depletion of signal in normal myocardium, consistent with failure of the contrast agent to cause signal loss. Similar infarction sizes were observed for unenhanced T₂-weighted images (33 ± 5%), gadolinium-enhanced T₁ weighted images (36 ± 5%) and postmortem staining (30 ± 6%); strong correlations (r > 0.9) were noted in comparisons of these data. Dysprosium-enhanced images exhibited a smaller region of differential signal presumed to be infarction (20 ± 5%, P < 0.05) and weak correlations (r < 0.75) with the other measurements. We conclude that the smaller infarction depicted on dysprosium-enhanced images is a subregion of the true infarction in which myocardial necrosis is sufficiently advanced that the agent is homogeneously distributed throughout all tissue compartments, preventing T₂*-dependent phase loss on spin echo images.