Comparison of SPECT bone scintigraphy with MRI for diagnosis of meniscal tears

Background

Scintigraphy has been considered as competitive to MRI, but limited data are available on the accuracy of single photon emission tomography (SPECT) compared with MRI for the assessment of meniscal tears. Our objective was to assess the value of SPECT in comparison to MRI.

Methods

Between January 2003 and March 2004, sixteen patients were studied with both modalities and the accuracy rates of SPECT scan results, and MRI findings in the diagnosis of meniscal tears were compared. Arthroscopy was the gold standard.

Results

The respective sensitivity rate, specificity rate, and positive and negative predictive accuracies of MRI were 89%, 94%, 93%, and 79% and for SPECT those were 78%, 94%, 94%, and 88%. There was good agreement on the presence or absence of tears between two modalities (κ statistic = 0.699).

Conclusion

SPECT and MRI are both valuable imaging techniques. SPECT is a useful alternative when MRI is unavailable or unsuitable and it is beneficial when more possible accuracy is desired (such as when MRI results are either inconclusive or conflict with other clinical data).     

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase is expressed in the endometrium of cycling mice throughout the oestrous cycle

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), an enzyme responsible for tryptophan catabolism, is thought to be required to prevent the rejection of the allogenic fetus by maternal T cells and to protect against intra- and extra-cellular pathogens. Consequently, we studied the expression of IDO in the endometrium of female Balb/c mice during the oestrous cycle. At each phase, the endometrium was peeled away and the relative expression of IDO mRNA was detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The presence of IDO protein was confirmed in each phase by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Our results showed that IDO is expressed in the endometrium of cycling mice during all the phases of oestrous cycle. The expression of IDO was highest at the oestrus and lowest at the dioestrus. By means of Western blotting and immunohistochemistry, we obtained evidence that IDO protein is synthesised in the endometrium of cycling mice throughout the oestrous cycle. In accordance with RT-PCR results, IDO protein was predominant at the oestrus phase. IDO protein was mainly localised in the glandular and luminal epithelial cells. Our results support the concept of IDO providing a mechanism of innate immunity to protect from ascending infections of the female reproductive tract. In addition, considering the fact that mating only occurs during the oestrus phase, the high expression of IDO in this phase is likely to be a mechanism that induces immunological tolerance of the fetus.     

Facile synthesis of a WOx/CsyWO3 heterostructured composite as a visible light photocatalyst

In this work, a WO_x/Cs_yWO₃ heterostructured composite was synthesized via a simple pyrolysis method followed by heat treatment under a reducing atmosphere. Optical absorption results revealed the WO_x/Cs_yWO₃ heterostructured composite exhibits a strong absorption tail in the Vis and NIR regions which could have important implications for its photoactivity. The photocatalytic performance of synthesized samples with different Cs/W molar ratios was evaluated by the photodegradation of RhB in aqueous solution under simulated solar light irradiation. The results revealed that the photocatalytic activity of the WO_x/Cs_yWO₃ composite is much higher than those of pure tungsten bronze (Cs_xWO₃, x = 0.32, and 0.5) and pure WO_2.83 samples, where 90% RhB was degraded after 160 min irradiation. Also, the WO_x/Cs_yWO₃ composite exhibits excellent photocatalytic activity for the degradation of MO, MB, RhB, and MG aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. It is proposed that the higher photocatalytic activity of the WO_x/Cs_yWO₃ composite could be attributed to the greater surface adsorption of dye molecules, intense light absorption in the visible and NIR regions, and photogenerated electron–hole separation.

In this work, a WO_x/Cs_yWO₃ heterostructured composite photocatalyst was synthesized via a simple pyrolysis method followed by heat treatment under a reducing atmosphere.     

Brain metastases from papillary thyroid carcinomas

Brain metastasis from papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is extremely rare and carries a poor prognosis. We report nine cases (five females and four males) of brain metastasis of PTC. The age of patients ranged from 46 to 87 years old. The patients presented with nonspecific symptoms such as headaches. Brain metastasis was the first clinical presentation in three of nine patients; two of which had the aggressive tall cell variant of PTC. Six patients had prior history of PTC (four classic, one oncocytic variant, and one columnar cell variant) for 2 to 17 years with a median of 12 years. Gross total resection of brain metastasis was achieved for eight of our patients. Eight patients were treated with radioactive iodine. The median follow-up time was 12 months, ranging from 1 month to 4 years. Three patients died of their disease in 6 months, 21 months and 4 years, respectively after their first presentation of brain metastasis. It seems that these rare aggressive variants of PTC, such as tall cell variant, not only have higher propensity to develop brain metastasis, but also more frequently present with brain metastasis as their first clinical presentation than classic PTC. Furthermore, patients with PTC can develop brain metastasis even after many years.     

Predictive performance of obesity indexes for the risk of high blood pressure in an adult population

Background and objectives

Comparisons of predictive performance of various anthropometric measures in high blood pressure have not been investigated. This study aimed at evaluating and comparing the predictive power of Body Mass Index (BMI), Body Adiposity index (BAI) and A Body Shape Index (ABSI) for predicting hypertension in adults.

Bone regeneration performance of surface-treated porous titanium

The large surface area of highly porous titanium structures produced by additive manufacturing can be modified using biofunctionalizing surface treatments to improve the bone regeneration performance of these otherwise bioinert biomaterials. In this longitudinal study, we applied and compared three types of biofunctionalizing surface treatments, namely acid–alkali (AcAl), alkali–acid–heat treatment (AlAcH), and anodizing-heat treatment (AnH). The effects of treatments on apatite forming ability, cell attachment, cell proliferation, osteogenic gene expression, bone regeneration, biomechanical stability, and bone-biomaterial contact were evaluated using apatite forming ability test, cell culture assays, and animal experiments. It was found that AcAl and AnH work through completely different routes. While AcAl improved the apatite forming ability of as-manufactured (AsM) specimens, it did not have any positive effect on cell attachment, cell proliferation, and osteogenic gene expression. In contrast, AnH did not improve the apatite forming ability of AsM specimens but showed significantly better cell attachment, cell proliferation, and expression of osteogenic markers. The performance of AlAcH in terms of apatite forming ability and cell response was in between both extremes of AnH and AsM. AcAl resulted in significantly larger volumes of newly formed bone within the pores of the scaffold as compared to AnH. Interestingly, larger volumes of regenerated bone did not translate into improved biomechanical stability as AnH exhibited significantly better biomechanical stability as compared to AcAl suggesting that the beneficial effects of cell-nanotopography modulations somehow surpassed the benefits of improved apatite forming ability. In conclusion, the applied surface treatments have considerable effects on apatite forming ability, cell attachment, cell proliferation, and bone ingrowth of the studied biomaterials. The relationship between these properties and the bone-implant biomechanics is, however, not trivial.     

Radiotherapy Enhancement with Electroporation in Human Intestinal Colon Cancer HT-29 Cells

Background: The efficiency of radiotherapy for tumors can be enhanced with different radiosensitizers. Previousstudies have shown that electroporation (EP) can sensitize some cancer cell lines to ionizing radiation (IR). HT-29is a radiation resistant colorectal cancer cell line, representative of a cancer type which is the second cause of cancermortalities in developed countries. The present study aimed to evaluate radiosensitizing effects of EP on HT-29 cellsin vitro exposed to 6 MV X-ray photon beams. Methods: HT-29 cells were exposed to a 6 MV X-ray photon beamas the control or to a combination of electroporation and irradiation. The response of cells was evaluated by colonyformation assay and survival curves. Results: The survival fraction of the HT-29 cells was significantly decreased byelectroporation prior to radiotherapy. A single electric pulse increased colorectal HT-29 cancer cell sensitivity to megavoltageradiation by a factor of 1.36. Conclusion: Our findings showed that EP before radiotherapy can significantlyenhance tumor cell sensitivity. This combined treatment modality should be assessed for its applicability in clinic settingsfor employment against radioresistant cancers. However, to facilitate achieving this goal, many different tumors witha broad range of radiosensitivities should be evaluated.     

FT-IR study of the polysaccharides isolated from the skin juice, gel juice, and flower of Aloe vera tissues affected by fertilizer treatment

Background

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different amounts of fertilizers on the polysaccharides of Aloe vera plant. There were four different treatments, viz. T₁?=?150%?N, T₂?=?150% P, T₃?=?150%?K, and T₄?=?150% NPK (50%?N?+?50% P?+?50%?K) soil. Crude water-soluble polysaccharides were isolated from the gel juice, skin juice, and flowers of A. vera planted in these soils.

Results

Result indicates that skin juice contained 2.4 times the level of polysaccharides in gel juice from one plant, suggesting the potential industrial application of A. vera skin rather than discarding it. After anion-exchange chromatography, neutral polysaccharides accounted for 58.1% and 78.5% of the total recovered neutral and acidic polysaccharide preparations from the gel juice and skin juice, respectively, whereas the crude flower polysaccharides were largely composed of weakly acidic polysaccharides (84.2%). Sugar analysis of the polysaccharides after gel permeation chromatography revealed that glucose and galactose were the most abundant monosaccharide in the neutral polysaccharides from the gel juice and skin juice, respectively. The acidic polysaccharides from the two juices consisted of glucuronic acid, galactose, glucose, mannose, and xylose with variable proportions.

Conclusions

Except glucuronic acid (15.4%) in flower acidic polysaccharide, the flower neutral and acidic polysaccharides contained galactose, glucose, and mannose as the main sugar components. Glucuronic acid was the major uronic acid in all acidic polysaccharides from different tissues.