Commissioning of the Varian universal interstitial cylinder system for HDR brachytherapy of gynecological cancer.

Purpose: This paper outlines the commissioning of the Varian (VMS, Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) Universal Interstitial Cylinder (UIC) applicator set for Ir-192 HDR brachytherapy. The UIC was commissioned for use with CT and MRI and a custom phantom was designed to avoid the introduction of water-like materials into the needle guide tracks. Various marker strands were investigated to determine which allowed the most accurate reconstruction of source positions.

Altered RBC deformability in diabetes: clinical characteristics and RBC pathophysiology.

Background: Reduced red blood cell deformability (RBCD) is associated with diabetic vascular complications, but early pathophysiological RBC changes and predictive demographic and clinical factors in populations with diabetes are unclear. An understanding of early diabetes-specific RBC changes associated with impaired RBCD is essential in investigating mechanisms that predispose to diabetic vascular complications.

Methods: We conducted an outpatient cross-sectional study of participants in a well-controlled diabetes cohort (N81) and nondiabetic controls (N78) at the National Institutes of Health.

Fate induction in CD8 CAR T cells through asymmetric cell division.

Early expansion and long-term persistence predict efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CARTs), but mechanisms governing effector versus memory CART differentiation and whether asymmetric cell division induces differential fates in human CARTs remain unclear. Here we show that target-induced proximity labelling enables isolation of first-division proximal-daughter and distal-daughter CD8 CARTs that asymmetrically distribute their surface proteome and transcriptome, resulting in divergent fates. Target-engaged CARs remain on proximal daughters, which inherit a surface proteome resembling activated-undivided CARTs, whereas the endogenous T cell receptor and CD8 enrich on distal daughters, whose surface proteome resembles resting CARTs, correlating with glycolytic and oxidative metabolism, respectively.

Age-associated change in pyruvate metabolism investigated with hyperpolarized C-MRI of the human brain.

In this study, hyperpolarized C MRI (HP- C MRI) was used to investigate changes in the uptake and metabolism of pyruvate with age. Hyperpolarized C-pyruvate was administered to healthy aging individuals (N = 35, ages 21-77) and whole-brain spatial distributions of C-lactate and C-bicarbonate production were measured. Linear mixed-effects regressions were performed to compute the regional percentage change per decade, showing a significant reduction in both normalized C-lactate and normalized C-bicarbonate production with age: per decade for C-lactate and per decade for C-bicarbonate.

Catheter reconstruction and dosimetric verification of MRI-only treatment planning (MRTP) for interstitial HDR brachytherapy using PETRA sequence.

. The feasibility of MRI-only treatment planning (MRTP) for interstitial high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy (BT) was investigated for patients diagnosed with gynecologic cancer..

Effective emissions reduction of high-mileage fleets through a catalytic converter and oxygen sensor replacement program.

High-mileage vehicles such as taxis make disproportionately large contributions to urban air pollution due to their accelerated engine deterioration rates and high operation intensities despite their small proportions of the total fleet. Controlling emissions from these high-mileage fleets is thus important for improving urban air quality. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a pilot repair program in reducing emissions from taxis in Hong Kong which account for about 2 % of the total licensed vehicles.

First pointwise encoding time reduction with radial acquisition (PETRA) implementation for catheter detection in interstitial high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy.

Purpose: A pointwise encoding time reduction with radial acquisition (PETRA) sequence was optimized to detect empty catheters in interstitial (HDR) brachytherapy with clinically acceptable spatial accuracy for the first time. Image quality and catheter detectability were assessed in phantoms, and the feasibility of PETRA's clinical implementation was assessed on a gynecological cancer patient.

Methods And Results: Empty catheters embedded in a gelatin phantom displayed positive signal on PETRA and more accurate cross-sections than on clinically employed T2-weighted sequences, differing by 0.

Rapid detection of high-emitting vehicles by on-road remote sensing technology improves urban air quality.

Vehicle emissions are the most important source of air pollution in the urban environment worldwide, and their detection and control are critical for protecting public health. Here, we report the use of on-road remote sensing (RS) technology for fast, accurate, and cost-effective identification of high-emitting vehicles as an enforcement program for improving urban air quality. Using large emission datasets from chassis dynamometer testing, RS, and air quality monitoring, we found that significant percentages of in-use petrol and LPG vehicles failed the emission standards, particularly the high-mileage fleets.

A survey of condom use among female sex workers in Northern Sydney; declining condom use for fellatio.

Condom use among female sex workers (FSWs) is dynamic. We conducted a survey, by anonymous questionnaire, of condom use among FSWs routinely attending our clinical service in Northern Sydney. Logistic regression models determined associations with inconsistent condom use.

Feasibility of magnetic resonance-only high-dose-rate surface brachytherapy for clinical application.

Purpose: In this article, we investigate the feasibility of magnetic resonance (MR)-only imaging for high-dose-rate (HDR) surface brachytherapy (SABT). We examined whether a standard CT-based planning can be replaced with an MR-only planning. For this purpose, the MRI digitization and plan quality check processes were compared against the standard CT-based processes.

Predicting response to radiotherapy of intracranial metastases with hyperpolarized [Formula: see text]C MRI.

Background: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is used to manage intracranial metastases in a significant fraction of patients. Local progression after SRS can often only be detected with increased volume of enhancement on serial MRI scans which may lag true progression by weeks or months.

Methods: Patients with intracranial metastases (N = 11) were scanned using hyperpolarized [Formula: see text]C MRI prior to treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS).

Thymus-derived B cell clones persist in the circulation after thymectomy in myasthenia gravis.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neuromuscular, autoimmune disease caused by autoantibodies that target postsynaptic proteins, primarily the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) and inhibit signaling at the neuromuscular junction. The majority of patients under 50 y with AChR autoantibody MG have thymic lymphofollicular hyperplasia. The MG thymus is a reservoir of plasma cells that secrete disease-causing AChR autoantibodies and although thymectomy improves clinical scores, many patients fail to achieve complete stable remission without additional immunosuppressive treatments.

γ-Tocotrienol-Loaded Liposomes for Radioprotection from Hematopoietic Side Effects Caused by Radiotherapeutic Drugs.

With the successful development and increased use of targeted radionuclide therapy for treating cancer comes the increased risk of radiation injury to bone marrow-both direct suppression and stochastic effects, leading to neoplasia. Herein, we report a novel radioprotector drug, a liposomal formulation of γ-tocotrienol (GT3), or GT3-Nano for short, to mitigate bone marrow radiation damage during targeted radionuclide therapy. GT3 was loaded into liposomes using passive loading.

Correlation of hyperpolarized C-MRI data with tissue extract measurements.

Hyperpolarized (HP) MRI provides the means to monitor lactate metabolism noninvasively in tumours. Since -lactate signal levels obtained from HP imaging depend on multiple factors, such as the rate of substrate delivery via the vasculature, the expression level of monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and the local lactate pool size, the interpretation of HP metabolic images remains challenging. In this study, ex vivo tissue extract measurements (i.

Partial Fourier reconstruction for improved resolution in 3D hyperpolarized C EPI.

Purpose: Asymmetric in-plane k-space sampling of EPI can reduce the minimum achievable TE in hyperpolarized with spectral-spatial radio frequency pulses, thereby reducing weighting and signal-losses. Partial Fourier image reconstruction exploits the approximate Hermitian symmetry of k-space data and can be applied to asymmetric data sets to synthesize unmeasured data. Here we tested whether the application of partial Fourier image reconstruction would improve spatial resolution from hyperpolarized [1- ]pyruvate scans in the human brain.

Lactate topography of the human brain using hyperpolarized C-MRI.

Lactate is now recognized as an important intermediate in brain metabolism, but its role is still under investigation. In this work we mapped the distribution of lactate and bicarbonate produced from intravenously injected C-pyruvate over the whole brain using a new imaging method, hyperpolarized C MRI (N = 14, ages 23 to 77). Segmenting the C-lactate images into brain atlas regions revealed a pattern of lactate that was preserved across individuals.

Early B cell tolerance defects in neuromyelitis optica favour anti-AQP4 autoantibody production.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) constitute rare autoimmune disorders of the CNS that are primarily characterized by severe inflammation of the spinal cord and optic nerve. Approximately 75% of NMOSD patients harbour circulating pathogenic autoantibodies targeting the aquaporin-4 water channel (AQP4). The source of these autoantibodies remains unclear, but parallels between NMOSD and other autoantibody-mediated diseases posit compromised B cell tolerance checkpoints as common underlying and contributing factors.

Tackling nitric oxide emissions from dominant diesel vehicle models using on-road remote sensing technology.

Remote sensing provides a rapid detection of vehicle emissions under real driving condition. Remote sensing studies showed that diesel nitrogen oxides emissions changed little or were even increasing in recent years despite the tightened emission standards. To more accurately and fairly evaluate the emission trends, it is hypothesized that analysis should be detailed for individual vehicle models as each model adopted different emissions control technologies and retrofitted the engine/vehicle at different time.

Circulating plasmablasts are elevated and produce pathogenic anti-endothelial cell autoantibodies in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) is a devastating pulmonary vascular disease in which autoimmune and inflammatory phenomena are implicated. B cells and autoantibodies have been associated with IPAH and identified as potential therapeutic targets. However, the specific populations of B cells involved and their roles in disease pathogenesis are not clearly defined.

αvβ6-Fyn Kinase Promotes Epithelial Phenotype in SYF Cells.

The 5-year survival rate for patients with oral cancer remains at 50%, in large part due the high rate of post-treatment recurrence. In this study, we transfected epithelial-specific integrin αvβ6 and Fyn-kinase, a member of the Src-family kinases, into embryonic murine fibroblasts. In oral cancer, expression of αvβ6 is neo-expressed.

Multicellular Spheroids as a Model for Hypoxia-induced EMT.

Oral cancer is aggressive and invasive. The 5-year survival rate is around 50% and has not improved in over 50 years. One-third of oral cancer patients develop local and/or regional tumor recurrence following treatment.

Compromised fidelity of B-cell tolerance checkpoints in AChR and MuSK myasthenia gravis.

Objective: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune condition in which neurotransmission is impaired by binding of autoantibodies to acetylcholine receptors (AChR) or, in a minority of patients, to muscle specific kinase (MuSK). There are differences in the dominant IgG subclass, pathogenic mechanisms, and treatment responses between the two MG subtypes (AChR or MuSK). The antibodies are thought to be T-cell dependent, but the mechanisms underlying their production are not well understood.

Regulation of Multicellular Spheroids by MAPK and FYN Kinase.

Understanding of the biology of oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) has not progressed significantly in the past 60 years, with 5-year survival remaining at approximately 50%. The epidemic of Human Papilloma Virus and its associated SCC warrants a renewed emphasis on fully understanding this disease. We previously used the 3-dimensional multicellular spheroid (MCS) model system to evaluate SCC behavior more accurately.

Investigating the Relationship between Transverse Relaxation Rate (R2) and Interecho Time in MagA-Expressing, Iron-Labeled Cells.

Reporter gene-based labeling of cells with iron is an emerging method of providing magnetic resonance imaging contrast for long-term cell tracking and monitoring cellular activities. This report investigates 9.4 T nuclear magnetic resonance properties of mammalian cells overexpressing MagA, a putative iron transport protein from magnetotactic bacteria.

Differential spheroid formation by oral cancer cells.

Squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) make up 96% of all oral cancers. Most laboratory SCC studies grow cells as a monolayer, which does not accurately represent the disease in vivo. We used a more relevant multicellular spheroid (MCS) model to study this disease.