Gated SPECT-Derived Myocardial Strain Estimated From Deep-Learning Image Translation Validated From N-13 Ammonia PET.

Rationale And Objectives: This study investigated the use of deep learning-generated virtual positron emission tomography (PET)-like gated single-photon emission tomography (SPECT) for assessing myocardial strain, overcoming limitations of conventional SPECT.

Materials And Methods: SPECT-to-PET translation models for short-axis, horizontal, and vertical long-axis planes were trained using image pairs from the same patients in stress (720 image pairs from 18 patients) and resting states (920 image pairs from 23 patients). Patients without ejection-fraction changes during SPECT and PET were selected for training.

Deep learning approach using SPECT-to-PET translation for attenuation correction in CT-less myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging.

Objective: Deep learning approaches have attracted attention for improving the scoring accuracy in computed tomography-less single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). In this study, we proposed a novel deep learning approach referring to positron emission tomography (PET). The aims of this study were to analyze the agreement of representative voxel values and perfusion scores of SPECT-to-PET translation model-generated SPECT (SPECT) against PET in 17 segments according to the American Heart Association (AHA).

Programmable Non-Epipolar Indirect Light Transport: Capture and Analysis.

The decomposition of light transport into direct and global components, diffuse and specular interreflections, and subsurface scattering allows for new visualizations of light in everyday scenes. In particular, indirect light contains a myriad of information about the complex appearance of materials useful for computer vision and inverse rendering applications. In this paper, we present a new imaging technique that captures and analyzes components of indirect light via light transport using a synchronized projector-camera system.

[Carcinoma of the gallbladder which progress on the mucosa of choledochocolonic fistula].

A 70-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for further examination of pneumobilia and atrophy in the gallbladder. Abdominal CT scan and EUS revealed that the atrophic gallbladder was occupied by a tumor lesion. In addition, ERCP showed choledochocolonic fistula.

Novel function of ascorbic acid as an angiostatic factor.

Endothelial permeability is increased by vascular endothelial cell growth factor and decreased by antioxidants. Whether or not l-ascorbic acid (Asc), which decreases endothelial permeability by stimulating the endothelial barrier function, is anti-angiogenic (angiostatic) remains unknown. We examined the role of Asc on angiogenesis using two assay systems.

In vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of the interferon inducer bropirimine.

In vivo and in vitro antitumor effects of an interferon (IFN)-alpha inducer, bropirimine (2-amino-5-bromo-6-phenyl-4(3H)-pyrimidinone), were examined in the murine tumor system. The antitumor effects were studied in Meth A cells, which were the most sensitive to bropirimine in the murine cell lines tested. The direct inhibitory activity of the drug was not reduced when Meth A cells were incubated with bropirimine and anti-IFNs, indicating that the inhibition is not due to autocrine IFN induction from tumor cells.

Effects of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in tumor-bearing mice on antibody production.

The function of T cell subsets in tumor-bearing mice was examined using an in vitro culture system of anti-(sheep red blood cell) antibody production, which is known to be dependent on T cells. The helper function of T cells of fibrosarcoma-MethA-bearing mice in antibody production decreased with the tumor stage of the mice. T cells were separated into CD4+ and CD8+ cells for further analysis of T cell subsets by the panning method using monoclonal antibodies.

[Angiogenesis and its regulation].

Angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels) is essential in embryonal development, female reproduction and wound repair. Under these physiological conditions, angiogenesis is highly regulated by the endogenous angiogenic factor and its inhibitor. However, angiogenic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetic retinopathy, solid tumor, hemangioma and psoriasis are driven by persistent unregulated angiogenesis.

Cyclophosphamide-induced suppressor cells in nude mice.

Lymphocytes regenerated after treatment with a high dose of cyclophosphamide (CY) were characterized in nude mice. Ten days after a single injection of 200 mg/kg CY into nude mice, regenerated spleen cells suppressed in vitro primary and second antibody production against sheep red blood cells. The CY-treated spleen cells exhibited normal natural killer (NK) activity, very low B and T cell content, but increases in cell surface charge [electrophoretic mobility (EPM)] and histamine receptors.

Cell electrophoretic characterization of abnormally expanded lymphocytes in autoimmune lprcg, lpr, gld and Yaa mice, and of thymocyte subsets.

Autoimmune mice carrying the lprcg/lprcg(lprcg),lpr/lpr(lpr),gld/gld(gld) and Yaa genes exhibit massive lymphoproliferation and a systemic lupus erythematosus-like syndrome. The surface markers of abnormally expanded lymphocytes used were Thy-1+, CD4-CD8- (double negative, DN) and CD45+ for lprcg, lpr, gld and (lprcg X gld) hybrid (F1-lprcg-gld) mice, and Ig+ for Yaa mice. To characterize the cell surface properties and differentiation pathway of lymphocytes in autoimmune mice, the cell electrophoretic mobility (EPM) was determined for the lymph node (LN), spleen and thymus cells.

Antitumor effect of 22-oxa-1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, a potent angiogenesis inhibitor, on rat mammary tumors induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene.

The effect of 22-oxa-1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (22-oxa-1,25(OH)2D3) on the growth of autochthonous rat mammary tumors induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) was examined on the basis of our previous finding that this synthetic vitamin D3 analog has a potent angiogenesis inhibitory effect. Two doses of 22-oxa-1,25(OH)2D3, 0.1 and 1 microgram/kg of body weight, due to the limited amount of the compound available, were used.

Angiogenic factor of a rat mammary tumor cell line (RMT-1) (I). Secretion of two distinct angiogenic factors into serum-free conditioned medium by RMT-1 cells.

Serum-free conditioned medium of a rat mammary tumor cell line RMT-1, established from a rat mammary carcinoma induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA), produced the complete angiogenic response in both rabbit cornea and chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane assays. The angiogenic activity in the RMT-1 conditioned medium was separated into two fractions on a column of heparin-Sepharose; one was eluted with 0.1 M NaCl and the other with 0.

Enkephalin-degrading aminopeptidase in the longitudinal muscle layer of guinea pig small intestine: its properties and action on neuropeptides.

A membrane-bound enkephalin-degrading aminopeptidase was purified from the longitudinal muscle layer of the guinea pig small intestine by four steps of column chromatography using L-tyrosine beta-naphthylamide. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be 105,000 by gel filtration. The maximum activity was observed between pH 6.

Whole-body hyperthermia maintains the secondary immune response of specific antitumour immune T cells.

The effect of hyperthermia on the spleen cells of Meth A-hyperimmunized BALB/c mice (Meth A-Im-SPL) was examined. Three kinds of heating were employed: (a) a cell suspension of Meth A-Im-SPL was directly heated for 1 h at 41 degrees C; (b) the whole body of Meth A-hyperimmunized mice was heated in the same manner--the antitumour activity of Meth A-Im-SPL was examined by Winn assay after heating; (c) the whole body of BALB/c mice intradermally inoculated with a mixture of Meth A-Im-SPL and Meth A cells (Winn assay) was heated in the same manner. The results showed that the antitumour activity of Meth A-Im-SPL was not affected by heating in vivo (Experiments B and C), although it was affected in vitro (Experiment A).

A novel angiogenic inhibitor derived from Japanese shark cartilage (I). Extraction and estimation of inhibitory activities toward tumor and embryonic angiogenesis.

Guanidine extraction and crude fractionation of Japanese shark cartilage by ultrafiltration on a molecular weight basis were conducted and the antiangiogenic activities were assayed as to the inhibitions of tumor and embryonic angiogenesis. Significant inhibition of angiogenesis was found, and there was a linear relationship between the results of the two assays. The inhibitory activities were concentrated in the fraction in the molecular weight range of 103 to 104, and were resistant to heat treatment.

Inhibition of angiogenesis by bleomycin and its copper complex.

The effects of bleomycin (BLM) and its copper complex on embryonic angiogenesis were studied in the chorioallantoic membranes of 4.5-day-old chick embryos. Copper-free BLM inhibited embryonic angiogenesis in a dose-dependent manner, with activity detectable at 1 ng/egg and maximal at 1000 ng/egg.

[Diagnosis of cancer using lymphocyte electrophoresis (3): Electrophoretic mobility, interleukin 1 and prostaglandin E2 productions of monocytes in peripheral blood of cancer patients].

The S/F ratio of slow electrophoretic mobility cells (less than 0.95 micron/sec/V/cm) to fast mobility cells (greater than or equal to 0.95) increased significantly in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of cancer patients.

A reverse effect of in vitro and in vivo concanavalin A-induced spleen cells on anti-sheep red blood cells response detected with a new method based on flow cytometry.

A simple flow cytometric method for detecting humoral immunity against sheep red blood cells (SRBC) is described. The SRBC were incubated with the serum from SRBC-immunized mice, monoclonal anti-SRBC, or the supernatant which was obtained from the in vitro primary culture of spleen cells with SRBC. The antibodies which bound to SRBC were estimated by means of an immunofluorescence and a flow cytometry.

Inhibition of angiogenesis by vitamin D3 analogues.

The effects of vitamin D3 and two analogues on embryonic angiogenesis were studied in 4.5-day-old chick embryo chorioallantoic membranes. The active metabolite of vitamin D3, 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, and a synthetic vitamin D3 analogue, 22-oxa-1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, inhibited angiogenesis in a dose-dependent manner, the inhibition occurring in the picomolar range.

Immunological properties of type IV collagen from mouse kidney.

Some immunological properties of mouse kidney type IV collagen (MKIVC) were investigated. In enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), rabbit anti-MKIVC antiserum reacted strongly with MKIVC but not at all with type I collagen or laminin of mouse origin. Thus, the purified MKIVC preparation was not contaminated with detectable amounts of other constituents of the extracellular matrix and the basement membrane including interstitial collagens, as suggested previously (T.

Lymphocyte electrophoresis as an indicator of modulation of concanavalin A-induced suppressor T-cells in vivo by anti-cancer drugs.

We have previously reported that concanavalin A (Con A)-induced suppressor T-cells in vivo are located in the lower electrophoretic mobility (EPM) zone as judged by the ratio of low mobility T-cells to high mobility T-cells (LMT/HMT ratio) in terms of lymphocyte electrophoresis, and that the administration of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) eliminates their suppressor activity as assayed by Con A-induced lymphocyte blastogenesis in vitro. The current study was undertaken to clarify the relation between changes in EPM and suppressor activity of Con A-induced suppressor T-cells by the administration of antitumor drugs such as cyclophosphamide (CY) and 5-FU when assayed by production of anti-sheep red blood cell antibody in vitro. The pretreatment with 5-FU, but not CY, abrogated the suppressor activity of Con A-induced T-cells followed by restoration of the LMT/HMT ratio of Con A-induced T-cells to that of normal T-cells.

A highly potent antiangiogenic activity of retinoids.

Four retinoids, i.e. retinol (vitamin A), retinoic acid, retinyl acetate and synthetic chalcone carboxylic acid (Ch 55), were examined for their effects on embryonic angiogenesis using 4.

Medroxyprogesterone acetate, an anti-cancer and anti-angiogenic steroid, inhibits the plasminogen activator in bovine endothelial cells.

Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) is an anti-cancer drug for mammary carcinomas and an angiostatic steroid. The effects of MPA on the growth and plasminogen activator (PA) activity of bovine endothelial cells were investigated to elucidate the inhibitory mechanism observed in angiogenesis. MPA did not suppress the growth of capillary endothelial cells, even at high concentrations.

Characterization of two possible forms of type IV collagen from human kidney cortex.

Type IV collagen was isolated from human kidney cortex according to the purification of mouse kidney type IV collagen (MKIVC) with minor modifications as described previously [Oikawa, T., et al. (1986) Chem.