High b value (2,000 s/mm2) diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in prostate cancer at 3 Tesla: comparison with 1,000 s/mm2 for tumor conspicuity and discrimination of aggressiveness.

Objective: The objective of our study was to investigate tumor conspicuity and the discrimination potential for tumor aggressiveness on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) with high b value at 3-T.

Materials And Methods: The institutional review board approved this study and waived the requirement for informed consent. A total of 50 patients with prostate cancer (69 cancer foci; 48 in the PZ, 20 in the TZ, and one in whole prostate) who underwent multiparametric prostate MRI including DW-MRI (b values: 0, 1000 s/mm2 and 0, 2000 s/mm2) on a 3-T system were included.

Transporter-mediated prostaglandin E₂ elimination across the rat blood-brain barrier and its attenuation by the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors.

Prostaglandin (PG) E2 is involved in neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity, and the cerebral PGE2 concentration is increased in neurodegenerative diseases. Because the intracerebral concentration of L-glutamate (L-Glu) is reported to be also elevated in neurodegenerative diseases, it has been proposed that L-Glu affects PGE2 dynamics in the brain, and thus exacerbates neural excitotoxicity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of intracerebral L-Glu on PGE2 elimination across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in rats by using the intracerebral microinjection technique.

Titanium alloy stem as a cause for adverse reaction to metal debris after bipolar hemiarthroplasty.

A 68-year-old male with failure of bipolar hemiarthroplasty consistent with adverse reaction to metal debris (ARMD) who presented with a painful cystic lesion and lower extremity swelling was encountered. However, revision surgical findings showed no apparent cause of ARMD previously described in the literature, such as corrosion at the head-neck junction and articular abrasion. Therefore, it was difficult to make a definite diagnosis of failure secondary to ARMD, which consequently led to the decision to perform two-stage revision procedure, though the stem was firmly fixed.

Risk factors of bile leakage after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background/aims: To identify the risk factors for postoperative biliary complications after hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methodology: The subjects were 123 patients who underwent hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma between January 2006 and December 2010. Perioperative factors related to postoperative bile leakage were studied.

Large simple hepatic cysts leading to gastric fundal varices in a noncirrhotic patient.

A 74-year-old noncirrhotic woman presented with abdominal distension and pain in the right hypochondrium. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) demonstrated multiple large simple liver cysts occupying the right lobe of the liver, the largest of which was 19 cm in diameter. Gastric varices were enhanced in the fundus of the stomach.

Genome Sequence of a Bacillus anthracis Outbreak Strain from Zambia, 2011.

In August 2011, an anthrax outbreak occurred among Hippopotamus amphibius hippopotamuses and humans in Zambia. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of the Bacillus anthracis outbreak strain CZC5, isolated from tissues of H. amphibius hippopotamuses that had died in the outbreak area.

Characterization of production processes for tetanus and diphtheria anatoxins.

Tetanus and diphtheria are diseases that still cause significant morbidity and mortality. Clostridium tetani produces the tetanus toxin, a 150-kDa protein. The diphtheria toxin is synthesized by Corynebacterium diphtheriae as a protein of 58 kDa.

Caspase 3 silencing inhibits biomechanical overload-induced intervertebral disk degeneration.

Intervertebral disk (IVD) degeneration causes debilitating low back pain in much of the worldwide population. No efficient treatment exists because of an unclear pathogenesis. One characteristic event early in such degeneration is the apoptosis of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells embedded in IVDs.

Localized biphasic type malignant mesothelioma arising in the peritoneum: Report of a case.

This report describes a rare case of localized malignant biphasic (mixed epithelioid and sarcomatoid) mesothelioma arising in the peritoneum. A 69-year-old male with a history of asbestos exposure, complaining of a painful mass in the left chest wall, was found via computed tomography (CT) to have a tumor in the left peritoneum. The resected tumor was histologically and immunohistochemically consistent with a malignant mesothelioma with mixed epithelioid and sarcomatoid type and no distant metastasis.

Common spatio-time-frequency patterns for motor imagery-based brain machine interfaces.

For efficient decoding of brain activities in analyzing brain function with an application to brain machine interfacing (BMI), we address a problem of how to determine spatial weights (spatial patterns), bandpass filters (frequency patterns), and time windows (time patterns) by utilizing electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. To find these parameters, we develop a data-driven criterion that is a natural extension of the so-called common spatial patterns (CSP) that are known to be effective features in BMI. We show that the proposed criterion can be optimized by an alternating procedure to achieve fast convergence.

Production of the first effective hyperimmune equine serum antivenom against Africanized bees.

Victims of massive bee attacks become extremely ill, presenting symptoms ranging from dizziness and headache to acute renal failure and multiple organ failure that can lead to death. Previous attempts to develop specific antivenom to treat these victims have been unsuccessful. We herein report a F(ab)(´)(2)-based antivenom raised in horse as a potential new treatment for victims of multiple bee stings.

Hypovolemic shock complex: does the pancreatic perfusion increase or decrease at contrast-enhanced dynamic CT?

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate contrast enhancement effects of the pancreas at dynamic computed tomography (CT) to clarify whether pancreatic perfusion increases or decreases in severe trauma patients with hypovolemic shock.

Methods: A total of 90 patients with (n=30) and without (n=60) blunt trauma and hypovolemic shock who underwent dynamic CT for abdomen was included. The measurement of CT attenuation values of the pancreas in the early phase and the late phase was performed to compare the contrast enhancement effects between patients with and without hypovolemic shock.

Regularization using similarities of signals observed in nearby sensors for feature extraction of brain signals.

In order to solve uncertainty of spatial weights learned with small amount of training samples for feature extraction from brain signals, a regularization using similarity of signals observed in sensors that are located near each other is proposed. Deriving the regularization is begun defining a distance between the sensors. Under the distance, the proposed regularization works so that the spatial weights extracts similar signals in the nearby sensors.

Age-related change in renal corticomedullary differentiation: evaluation with noncontrast-enhanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) MRI with spatially selective inversion pulse using variable inversion time.

Purpose: To evaluate age-related change in renal corticomedullary differentiation and renal cortical thickness by means of noncontrast-enhanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with spatially selective inversion recovery (IR) pulse.

Materials And Methods: The Institutional Review Board of our hospital approved this retrospective study and patient informed consent was waived. This study included 48 patients without renal diseases who underwent noncontrast-enhanced SSFP MRI with spatially selective IR pulse using variable inversion times (TIs) (700-1500 msec).

Relationship between augmentation index and left ventricular diastolic function in healthy women and men.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sex on the correlation between arterial stiffness and left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in a healthy population without significant atherosclerosis.

Methods: Subjects (n = 446) who had simultaneous echocardiography and arterial stiffness recordings were enrolled. From these subjects, 95 men and 72 age-matched women without atherosclerotic risk factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus) were included in the analysis.

Role of transthoracic Doppler echocardiography in patients with a proximal left coronary artery lesion that cannot be diagnosed by computed tomography angiography.

The diagnosis of lesions with severe calcium or in-stent stenosis using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is still difficult. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the accuracy of transthoracic Doppler echocardiography (TTDE) in patients with suspected angina pectoris, who had a proximal left coronary artery (LCA) site that could not be evaluated by CCTA. Fifty-eight patients were evaluated.

SSVEP-based brain-computer interfaces using FSK-modulated visual stimuli.

A brain-computer interface (BCI) based on steady-state visual-evoked potentials (SSVEP) has two difficulties: limitation of the number of commands and uneven probabilities of command execution. To address these problems, the present paper proposes a paradigm of BCI using frequency-modulated visual stimuli. The commands are translated into code words consisting of binary digits, to which visual stimuli with distinct frequencies are assigned.

Tissue gadolinium deposition in renally impaired rats exposed to different gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents: evaluation with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Objectives: To quantify tissue gadolinium (Gd) deposition in renally impaired rats exposed to Gd-EOB-DTPA and other Gd-based MRI contrast agents by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and to compare the differences in distribution among major organs as possible triggers for nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF).

Methods: A total of 15 renally impaired rats were injected with Gd-EOB-DTPA, Gd-DTPA-BMA and Gd-HP-DO3A. Gd contents of skin, liver, kidney, lung, heart, spleen, diaphragm and femoral muscle were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

The Great East-Japan Earthquake and devastating tsunami: an update and lessons from the past Great Earthquakes in Japan since 1923.

Japan has a long history of fighting against great earthquakes that cause structural damage/collapses, fires and/or tsunami. On March 11, 2011 at 14:46 (Friday), the Great East-Japan Earthquake (magnitude 9.0) attacked the Tohoku region (northeastern Japan), which includes Sendai City.

Global identification of genes related to nutrient deficiency in intervertebral disc cells in an experimental nutrient deprivation model.

Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration is a significant cause of degenerative spinal diseases. Nucleus pulposus (NP) cells reportedly fail to survive in large degenerated discs with limited nutrient availability. Therefore, understanding the regulatory mechanism of the molecular response of NP cells to nutrient deprivation may reveal a new strategy to treat disc degeneration.

Repeat hepatectomies for hepatic malignant lymphoma and hepatocellular carcinoma associated with chronic hepatitis C: report of a case.

We report a case of repeat hepatectomies for hepatic malignant lymphoma and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A 75-year-old man with chronic hepatitis C underwent partial hepatectomy for a 25 mm hepatic tumor in S5. The histological diagnosis was diffuse large B-cell malignant lymphoma and as postoperative (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography showed no hot spots, the mass was presumed to be primary hepatic lymphoma.

Time sparsification of EEG signals in motor-imagery based brain computer interfaces.

We propose a method of sparsifying EEG signals in the time domain for common spatial patterns (CSP) which are often used for feature extraction in brain computer interfaces (BCI). For accurate classification, it is important to analyze the period of time when a BCI user performs a mental task. We address this problem by optimizing the CSP cost with a time sparsification that removes unnecessary samples from the classification.