Findings of fluorine-18-FDG PET in extranodal origin lymphoma--in three cases of diffuse large B cell type lymphoma.

F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is an excellent modality for non-invasive functional imaging of malignant lymphoma and is highly sensitive and specific for the detection of lymphoma lesions. Here, we report the findings of FDG-PET for three cases of diffuse large B cell type lymphoma (DLBCL) with extranodal tumors in the breast, stomach, and liver plus spleen, respectively. The whole body FDG-PET findings showed no evidence of lymph node (LN) involvement or distant metastasis.

Measurement and evaluation of the acoustic noise of a 3 Tesla MR scanner.

We measured the sound level and frequencies of the acoustic noise generated by a 3 Tesla (T) MR scanner, and investigated the subjective sound level for 30 healthy volunteers with either earplugs, headphones or both. The sound level of 3T was found to be higher than that of 1.5T in all sequences.

Comparison of numerical and experimental simulations of a flood in a dense urban area.

Although various numerical methods were used to simulate real floods occurring in cities, the validation of the models was never accurate because of the lack of data about location and event description and about observation for validation. In order to check the capacities of our 2-dimensional shallow water equations model to simulate an urban flood, we then decided to simulate numerically an experimental event with well known characteristics and accurate flow measurements. The physical model presented in (Ishigaki et al, 2003) represents the flooding of the city center of Kyoto in Japan due to an overflow from the Kamo river.

Prostate cancer detection with 3-T MRI: comparison of diffusion-weighted and T2-weighted imaging.

Objective: To compare the clinical value of diffusion-weighted (DW) and T2-weighted (T2W) imaging in detecting prostate cancer using a 3-Tesla (3T) magnetic resonance (MR) system.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-seven patients with suspected prostate cancer underwent T2W and DW imaging at 3T using an 8-channel phased-array coil. These images and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were read retrospectively and blindly.

Intra- and interobserver agreement and performance score of breast phantom image interpretation: influence of ambient room lighting levels.

The influence of ambient room lighting conditions on soft-copy breast phantom image interpretation was evaluated by comparing cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors with liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Nine observers were asked to use a three-point scale to rate the visibility of various phantom objects (masses, specks, and fibers) displayed on a 21-inch CRT (2,560 x 2,048) and a 21-inch LCD (2,560 x 2,048) under three different levels of ambient lighting (20, 100 and 420 lux at the display center). Each phantom image was interpreted twice, and the reproducibility of judgment and inter-observer agreement was evaluated using kappa statistics.

Application of subsecond rotation scan to helical CT for lung cancer screening.

Purpose: To clarify whether the benefit of a reduced effective scan width obtained using a smaller pitch outweighs the disadvantage of increased noise in the application of a subsecond helical CT to mass screenings for lung cancer.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-two helical CT scans of the lung were obtained in 11 healthy subjects using the following parameters: 1) scan 1 was performed at 120 kVp, 50 mA, 10-mm collimation, 1-second/rotation, helical pitch of 2.0; and 2) scan 2 was performed at 120 kVp, 50 mA, 10-mm collimation, 0.

Evaluation of new image processing conditions for digital mammograms from Fuji computed radiography.

Purpose: A new processing parameter (T-type parameter) setting for gray scale was developed to improve the image quality of digital mammograms. To clarify the usefulness of this parameter setting, we have evaluated the image quality of digital mammograms (hard copy images) processed with this parameter, and compared it with S/F mammography.

Material And Methods: Mammograms were made under the same radiographic conditions by the S/F and FCR systems (type 1, S/F; type 2 and 3, FCR with new T-type parameters; type 4 and 5, FCR with conventional parameters).

Influence of monitor luminance and room illumination on soft-copy reading evaluation with electronically generated contrast-detail phantom: comparison of cathode-ray tube monitor with liquid crystal display.

The influence of monitor brightness and room illumination on soft-copy diagnosis by both cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitor and liquid crystal display (LCD) was evaluated and compared using a contrast-detail phantom. Nine observers (7 radiologists and 2 radiological technicians) interpreted six types of electronically generated contrast-detail phantom images using a 21-inch CRT (2,048x2,560) and a 21-inch LCD (2,048x2,560) under 6 kinds of viewing conditions, i.e.

CT depiction of small arteries in the pancreatic head: assessment using coronal reformatted images with 16-channel multislice CT.

Background: To assess the capabilities of 16-channel multislice CT in acquiring almost exclusively arterial-phase images of the pancreas and depicting small pancreatic arteries in coronal reformatted images.

Materials And Methods: In 45 consecutive patients, arterial-phase contrast enhancement was measured in the aorta and its branches, portal venous system, and pancreas. Coronal reformatted images of 1.

Cerebral glucose metabolism change in patients with complex regional pain syndrome: a PET study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine abnormalities of the central nervous system in patients with chronic pain who were diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS).

Materials And Methods: Brain activity was assessed using (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. The data collected from 18 patients were compared with data obtained from 13 normal age-matched controls.

Assessment of anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal junction with high-resolution multiplanar reformatted images in MDCT.

Objective: The objective of our study was to assess the capabilities of MDCT for the diagnosis of an anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal junction using high-resolution multiplanar reformatted (multiplanar reconstruction) images.

Materials And Methods: This study included nine patients with and 54 without an anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal junction confirmed on direct cholangiopancreatography. Multiplanar reconstruction images with 0.

Urea coordinated titanium trichloride Ti(III)[OC(NH)2]6Cl3: a single molecular precursor yielding highly visible light responsive TiO2 nanocrystallites.

A coordination complex, Ti(III)[OC(NH2)2]6Cl3, was first synthesized via reacting hot alcoholic solutions of TiCl3 and urea, which was subsequently employed as a molecular precursor for nanocrystalline TiO2 via thermal decomposition. Fourier transform IR spectroscopy confirmed C=O-->Ti coordination bond formation, while Rietveld refinement revealed a hexagonal crystal structure (space group: Pc1) for the complex with a = b = 16.438(4) A, c = 15.

The effect of patient age on contrast enhancement during CT of the pancreatobiliary region.

Objective: The objective of our study was to assess whether it is possible to reduce the dose and rate of contrast material injection in elderly patients in triple-phase contrast-enhanced CT of the pancreatobiliary region with an MDCT scanner.

Subjects And Methods: One hundred twelve patients were divided into three groups: contrast injection at 0.08 mL/kg body weight/s (an upper limit of 5 mL/s) over 30 seconds in patients 60 years old or younger (group 1, n = 49), the same contrast injection as group 1 in patients more than 60 years old (group 2, n = 32), and contrast injection at 0.

Wavelength-sensitive photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange in aqueous suspension over iron(III)-doped TiO2 nanopowders under UV and visible light irradiation.

Well-crystallized iron(III)-doped TiO2 nanopowders with controlled Fe3+ doping concentration and uniform dopant distribution, have been synthesized with plasma oxidative pyrolysis. The photocatalytic reactivity of the synthesized TiO2 nanopowders with a mean particle size of 50-70 nm was quantified in terms of the degradation rates of methyl orange (MO) in aqueous TiO2 suspension under UV (mainly 365 and 316 nm) and visible light irradiation (mainly 405 and 436 nm). The photodecomposition of MO over TiO2 nanopowders followed a distinct two-stage pseudo first order kinetics.

Diagnostic value of curved multiplanar reformatted images in multislice CT for the detection of resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of curved multiplanar reformatted (MPR) images obtained by multislice CT for the depiction of the main pancreatic duct (MPD) and detection of resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. This study included 28 patients with pancreatic carcinoma (size range 12-40 mm) and 22 without. Curved MPR images with 0.

Diffusion-weighted imaging of the liver: technical challenges and prospects for the future.

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has recently been attempted in the abdominal region. We review diffusion-weighted images of the liver, especially from the technical point of view. We discuss selection of pulse sequence parameters, effects of anti-breathing motion technique, tips for measuring apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and utility of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO), showing clinical cases, including those at 3T.

Relationship between CT densitometry with a slice thickness of 0.5 mm and audiometry in otosclerosis.

The appropriate cutoff Hounsfield unit (HU) value for the diagnosis of otosclerosis was determined and the correlation between the bone conduction threshold and the findings of computed tomography (CT) densitometry investigated. CT images, 0.5-mm thick, were evaluated in 24 ears with otosclerosis and 19 control ears.

Low efficacy of 18F-FDG PET for detection of uveal malignant melanoma compared with 123I-IMP SPECT.

Unlabelled: Earlier investigations showed that N-isopropyl-p-123I-iodoamphetamine SPECT (123I-IMP SPECT) is useful for the diagnosis of uveal malignant melanoma, whereas the feasibility and usefulness of 18F-FDG PET in uveal malignant melanoma have not yet been established. We compared the usefulness of 123I-IMP SPECT and 18F-FDG PET for the detection of uveal malignant melanoma on the same subjects.

Methods: Nineteen patients (10 men, 9 women) with suspected uveal malignant melanoma were examined by 123I-IMP SPECT.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of the ligand-binding domain of human lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor 1 (LOX-1).

Two different fragments of the ligand-binding domain of LOX-1, the major receptor for oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) on endothelial cells, have been crystallized in different forms. One crystal form contains the disulfide-linked dimer, which is the form of the molecule present on the cell surface; the other contains a monomeric form of the receptor that lacks the cysteine residue necessary to form disulfide-linked homodimers. The crystal of the monomeric ligand-binding domain belongs to space group P2(1)2(1)2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 56.

Influence of rib structure on detection of subtle lung nodules.

Purpose: To access the influence of anatomic noise on the detectability of subtle lung nodules depicted on chest radiographs.

Material And Methods: From normal chest radiography images, 132 square regions were extracted, of which the centers were on the upper margin of a rib, the inside of a rib, the lower margin of a rib, and the central region between two adjoining ribs. Simulated nodules were digitally superimposed at the centers of these extracted square images.

An abnormal accumulation of fluorine-18-FDG PET in cytomegalovirus enteritis--a case report.

The source of a fever of unknown origin (FUO) and watery diarrhea in a 63-yr-old female with a history of disturbance of consciousness due to moyamoya disease was examined. Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), colonoscopy, blood analysis, and determination of cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia were performed. FDG was found to be accumulated in the wall of a dilated colon, and extended from the transverse to sigmoid colon.

Intraarterial cisplatin/nedaplatin and intravenous 5-fluorouracil with concurrent radiation therapy for patients with high-risk uterine cervical cancer.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the combination of intraarterial and intravenous concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CIAIV-CCRT) for the treatment of high-risk uterine cervical cancer.

Methods: Between January 2000 and November 2004, we reviewed 45 cervical cancer patients treated by CIAIV-CCRT. The numbers of patients with stage IB2, IIA, IIB, IIIA, IIIB, and IVA were 3, 6, 14, 1, 17, and 4, respectively.

Phase structure and luminescence properties of Eu3+-doped TiO2 nanocrystals synthesized by Ar/O2 radio frequency thermal plasma oxidation of liquid precursor mists.

Eu3+-doped TiO2 luminescent nanocrystals have been synthesized in this work via Ar/O2 thermal plasma oxidizing mists of liquid precursors containing titanium tetra-n-butoxide and europium(III) nitrate, with varied O2 input in the plasma sheath (10-90 L/min) and Eu3+ addition in the precursor solution (Eu/(Ti + Eu) = 0-5 atom%). The resultant nanopowders are mixtures of the anatase (30-36 nm) and rutile (64-83 nm) polymorphs in the studied range, but the rutile fraction increases steadily at a higher Eu3+ addition, as revealed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy, because of the creation of oxygen vacancies in the TiO2 gas clusters by substitutional Eu3+ doping. The amount of Eu3+ that can be doped into a TiO2 lattice was limited up to 0.

Measurement of modulation transfer functions for liquid crystal displays by rectangular waveform analysis.

We measured modulation transfer functions (MTFs) of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) by rectangular waveform analysis. This method consists of taking a picture of the bar pattern on the display surface with a digital camera, and analyzing the picture with a personal computer. The displays used are LCDs of 1M (about 1 million pixels), 2M, 3M, and 5M, and a cathode ray tube (CRT) display with a pixel number of 5M.

Plasma leptin levels of elite endurance runners after heavy endurance training.

A decrease in testosterone levels and an increase in cortisol levels are observed in male athletes with the overtraining syndrome (OTS). Cortisol causes blood leptin levels to rise and testosterone has an inverse relationship with blood leptin levels. Therefore, we hypothesized that the hormonal changes as a result of OTS induce an increase in leptin.